Aftermath of HTS attacks in Aleppo (Photo: X/RojavaNetwork)
Intense fighting erupted in Syria last week between the new regime and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the north east.
The fighting was concentrated in the northern city of Aleppo, with some 200,000 people being displaced.
A ceasefire saw SDF forces withdraw from the city on Sunday.
Syria remains divided in the wake of the civil war and the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose HTS forces overthrew the old regime, controls most of the country. He has been trying to reintegrate the SDF-run north east of the country and the Druze-controlled Suwayda region in the south.
The new regime has stoked sectarian violence in a bid to divide and rule, including against the Alawite minority on the north western coast. It’s done so on the pretext that the Assad family dynasty, and many of the regime’s officials, were Alawites.
Fighting erupted when negotiations over the north east broke down.
What is the background to the fighting?
There are two key reasons for the clashes in Aleppo. First, it is the second great city in Syrian—and economically it is the most crucial.
Second, HTS wants to take full control of Aleppo, which it currently does not have. And importantly, Turkey sees the city as an important part of its sphere of influence as it extends its power in Syria.
This particular attack follows from the Paris meeting this year between Israeli officials, HTS and the US.
They signed an agreement to create “joint mechanisms” for sharing security and diplomatic information between them.
So not only is this a huge concession, it gives confidence to imperialist powers.
Why has the new regime faced so much resistance?
Al-Sharra turns towards the imperialist powers acting in Syria to maintain control.
There are three main imperial powers in Syria—Turkey, which supports HTS, the United States and Israel, which is seeking to build its regional influence.
HTS is ready to make all kinds of concessions to these states just to stay in power. For example, Israeli forces have increased their presence in the Golan Heights, which they have occupied since 1967.
For the first time, the Syrian ministry of foreign affairs published a map which excluded the Golan Heights from Syria.
At the same time, al-Sharaa makes absolutely no concessions to ordinary people. In March last year, it fought the Alawite minority. Then in the summer it fought the Druze in Suwayda. They have conducted deadly attacks against the Christian church in the capital Damascus.
We can add to this all the social and political aspects—the fact that HTS has done nothing to promote or improve the living standards for Syrian people.
So there is a huge bloc of people against HTS on a social, political, ethnic and religious basis.
US imperialism has previously supported the SDF against Assad’s regime. Now it is pursuing relations with al-Sharra—where does it stand now?
This is all a game for the US to reinforce its influence in Syria with minimum effort. In this case, it is in its interests to keep Turkey broadly on the side.
The US no longer has any use for the SDF, which it backed at various points against Assad. Instead, the SDF was forced under US pressure to sign the March agreement last year to bring the autonomous zone into Syria.
Once again, the US has proved it is no ally to the Kurdish people.
Is there a legacy of Bashar al-Assad’s forces in Syria?
The majority of Alawites are against Assad and there are interesting things happening among them.
They are trying to create their own structures of political and social expression from below. And what’s interesting is that there is the feeling of “no collaboration with HTS”, but also a rejection of Assad and its heritage.
That brings the possibility for change from below.
What is that potential for change in Syria?
I mentioned the huge bloc of people against HTS on many bases—but this is not organised into a collective force against the ruling power.
Our challenge is how to unify all these sectors of struggle against the new regime.
We need a political platform that can include Alawites, Druze, Kurds, landless peasants, workers’ syndicates, the LGBT+ people and so on. This will be very hard, but the possibilities are there.
This is how we can work for all the oppressed—this I think must be the axis of our action.
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