Syria poses no threat to the world, HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa tells BBC

Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said the country was exhausted by war and posed no threat to its neighbors or the West.

In an interview with the BBC in Damascus, he called for the lifting of sanctions against Syria.

Sharaa led the lightning offensive that toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime less than two weeks ago. He is the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the dominant group in the rebel alliance, and was previously known by his military pseudonym Abu Mohammed al-Jolani.

He said HTS should be removed from the list of terrorist organizations. It is designated as such a group by the United Nations, the US, the EU and the UK, among others, because it began as a splinter group of al-Qaeda, from which it broke away in 2016.

Sharaa said HTS is not a terrorist group.

They did not target civilians or civilian areas, he said. In fact, they saw themselves as victims of the crimes of the Assad regime. The victims, he said, should not be treated in the same way as the oppressors.

He denied wanting to turn Syria into a version of Afghanistan.

Sharaa said countries are very different and have different traditions. Afghanistan was a tribal society. In Syria, he said, there is a different way of thinking. He said he believed in education for women.

Sharaa remained relaxed throughout the interview, wearing civilian clothes and trying to reassure those who believe his group has not broken from its extremist past.

Many Syrians don’t believe him.

The actions of Syria’s new rulers over the next few months will show what kind of country they want Syria to be – and how they want to rule it.