al Jolani the Syrian rebel leader who defeated Assad Explained

Syria and the Middle East has been turned upside down in just two weeks and this is the man responsible for the fall of Assad he is Ahmed Al Shar better known as Abu Muhammad Al jalani the leader of the Rebel militia hayat al-sham or hgs galani is considered terrorist by many countries and the United States has $10 million bounty on his head the country now has transitional government and galani is its military lead leader but some already see him as the de facto head of the new Syria we're going to tell you about his journey to becoming the face of revolution and what galan's leadership could mean for the future of Syria and The Wider world this is Syria's Rebel leader explained another week and another explainer on Syria last time we looked at how Assad's allies had deserted him and left him vulnerable to losing power here we're going to talk about the man who defeated him Ahmed Hussein al-shara was born in Saudi Arabia in 1982 his family had moved there from Syria they lived in the goolan heights but had to flee after it was occupied by Israel following The Six Day War and the name galani was chosen by him as reference to his family's origins in the Goan Heights when he was seven he returned to Syria settling in the capital Damascus as young man in 2000 he watched the start of the second into major Uprising by Palestinians against Israel and galani says this began his Pathway to jihadism year later Al-Qaeda carried out the 911 attacks against the United States with America invading Afghanistan and then preparing for war against Iraq galani traveled to Baghdad and he was there when the conflict began he joined the fight against the US occupation and in 2005 he was imprisoned in us-run jail in Iraq it was in that prison that he met Abu bakar Al Bagdad the man who would become the leader of the jihadist group the Islamic State or is galani says he used his time in prison to write thesis about how to fight Jihad in Syria Syrian Society has been brutalized for the best part of five decades so jolani like many syrians is product of that brutalizing barbaric environment and that really helped fuel his trajectory into the global Jihad movement in 2011 galani was out of prison and the Arab Spring had begun across the Middle East Mass civilian protests against authoritarian regimes and syrians were out on the streets as well demonstrating against President Bashar al-assad they were met with brutal force and rebel groups took up arms against Assad's forces galani was sent back to Syria by his former prison mate baghdaddy back with funds to create new jihadist group to fight against the regime galani established the al-nusra front which quickly became prominent fighting force but while jalani used the financial backing of baghdaddy he distanced himself from the leader after the creation of the Islamic State galanis Al NRA front instead joined Al-Qaeda becoming their key fighting force in Syria he's quite slippery character who's always been titrating different relationships Up and Down based on what they're going to serve and deliver for him it wasn't long before galani announced split from Al-Qaeda 2 and in 2016 he formed group that would become hayat Alam or HDs it's clear that galani relied on both Isis and Al-Qaeda to establish his military foothold in Syria an amnesty inter National accused Al NRA along with four other rebel groups of committing war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law with impunity but galani has tried to distance himself from some of the most extreme elements of jihadism the man who cites 9/11 is having key moment in his journey to becoming fighter also says that he always opposed the killing of innocent civilians in his fight against the Americans in Iraq as well as against the Assad regime in Syria one of his key messages to Syria as well as the wider world is that while Isis and Al-Qaeda fight religious War his War has always been against President Bashar al-assad with that firm focus on Syria HDs under galani became the dominant force in the Northwestern Syrian province of idlib home to 4 million people in 2019 rebel stronghold in the face of the Assad regime they created civilian front the Syrian salvation government appointing ministers and providing Public Services galani was very visible at this time engaging with the public and he reached out to non-muslim communities as well something very different to both Isis and Al-Qaeda he has over the last two or three years for example been showing himself at churches been showing the erection of Christmas trees and areas that he controls he's been very keen to project this image as competent Statesman for for some time now what HDs has taken seemingly consiliary approach to governing non-muslim communities at the same time it has also ruthlessly suppressed other opposition groups and it's been reported that HDs has tortured and killed civilians in their detention centers that brings the story up to this year where the battle lines in Syria were essentially Frozen until this happened with conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon and with Russia fighting Ukraine the world's attention was not on Syria when HDs launched surprise offensive late in November within days leppo had fallen huge moment HDs had taken Syria's second largest city Assad with the support of Russian fighter jets responded with air strikes but the strength of support from Assad's allies Iran Russia and Hezbollah in particular was limited and on the ground in Syria Assad's own forces crumbled in the face of the HDs assault galan's forces took Hammer city that had previously never fallen into Rebel control in the 2011 Uprising the progress and execution of plans have been Swift with clear communication and adherence to commands the revolution has transitioned from chaos and Randomness to state of order HDs then swept homes and reached the capital Damascus meanwhile Assad fled to Russia with his whole family as he entered the capital galani dropped his name associated with his jihadist past he is Ahmed Al Shara once again and is promising new start for Syria in less than fortnite the entire complexion of Syria has completely changed and so too has the Middle East without Assad in charge Iran and Hezbollah have been dramatically weakened and Russia which relied on the former regime for foothold in the region is facing the prospect of negotiating with the same Rebel forces it's been fighting against for more than decade the Russian column has just set off again they were stuck for nearly two hours at the side of the road with flat tire they don't look like defeated Army they're retreating in good order they must have come to some kind of agreement with the new authorities in Damascus what alalani and Sham have achieved in Syria simply breathtaking jolani launched essentially blitz cre attack against government positions sweeping across very large parts of the country with blistering speed with HDs now maneuvering to lead the whole of Syria what kind of government can the country expect we can think of the model that might seek for Syria as being Taliban light by which mean they want an Islamic character to Syrian Society he needs to work out exactly what kind of Islamic Hue and tint he wants to put onto Syrian Civil Society one of galan's first challenges will be persuading the West to recognize HDs as legitimate power the group is currently listed as terrorist organization by many countries but that could change quickly think there is sense of rethinking amongst Western Nations now about what to do with Abu Muhammad Al Jani the US state department has said it will work with anybody in Syria provided they are willing to transition the country in way that respects minorities respects all the diverse and different parts of the rich tapestry of Syrian society and think the UK government like number of of other European governments as well will look to engage with him because you can't ignore him at this stage part of galan's game plan is to present himself as pragmatic and moderate leader while reassuring minority groups they will be safe strategy to appeal to the whole of Syria but also the wider world and one he's been pursuing long term you see galani claims he's been trying to distance himself from more extreme elements for more than decade and he gave his first interview to Western media in 2021 and this is what an HTS representative told Channel 4 News this organization represents Third Way meaning it is not Al-Qaeda it is not Isis but rather third path national revolutionary path the revolution has now triumphed and we do not wish to enter new phase of Revenge but can he really be trusted now that he's in the most powerful position of his life he senses an opportunity to write his name in the history books and therefore he is trying to titrate different relationships up and down as he needs to in order to deliver result for him and of course delivering result for him will really mean delivering result for Syria and transitioning Syrian Civil Society into post Assad structure where minorities are accommodated where minorities are comfortable they're not persecuted the fall of the brutal Assad regime has been widely celebrated by syrians we are overwhelmed with happiness my feeling is can't can't speak man and so far galani is treading carefully with his people taking the same pragmatic and consiliary approach that served hgs well in idlin so we're at the very start of the journey and of course this trajectory could go in many ways but think there are grounds to be very cautiously optimistic about what might happen next gilani's next moves will be pivotal not just for his own career but for the future of country long torn apart by conflict thanks for watching and don't forget to catch up with our other coverage from Syria including pora Brian's incredible access to the notorious Zeda prison used by the Assad regime against his enemies and do subscribe for more videos like this where we try to make sense of this crucial moment for both the Middle East and the world