BEIRUT, LEBANON (10:00 A.M.) – The infamous commander of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham, Abu Mohammad Al-Jolani, recently admitted that his jihadist group had lost its bases in the Hama Governorate to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA).
According to Al-Jolani, his jihadist group, formerly known as Jabhat Al-Nusra, lost their bases as a result of the Syrian Army attack and the lack of support given to them by the local population.
On Friday, Al-Jolani held a meeting with 50 representatives of different militant groups and some media activists in northwestern Syria.
Opposition activists further reported via social media that Al-Jolani admitted to losing the two key towns of Kafr Naboudeh and Qal’at Al-Madiq in northwestern Hama.
In a relevant development in late April, Al-Jolani threatened other militant groups against handing over any more territories to the Syrian Army and their allies.
Al-Jolani held a meeting with eight senior commanders of eight militant groups, including the Turkestan Islamic Party, Hurras Al-Deen group, and Jaysh Al-Issa in the town of Atmeh near the border with Turkey, the Arabic-language version of Russia’s Sputnik News Agency quoted local sources in Idlib province as saying.
Tahrir al-Sham’s ringleader who attended the meeting under tight security measures strongly warned commanders of other militant groups that they would be regarded as traitors if they hand over any region under any agreement with the Syrian Army.
With the recent rebel losses, some sources in the region have reported that tribal leaders from Khan Sheikhoun and Ma’arat al-Nu’man are trying to hand over these areas to the Syrian Army in order to avoid the war spilling into these cities.
