Hayat Tahrir al-Sham cracks down on Assad supporters in Idlib
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham carried out a spate of arrests in several areas under its control in Idlib, targeting pro-Syrian government individuals who supported President Bashar al-Assad in the recent presidential elections, as well as members of the Islamic State.
IDLIB, Syria — The General Security Service affiliated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham — which is designated as a terrorist group by the United States — announced in a May 30 tweet that the service’s Executive Force launched a security campaign May 29 against what it described as “the collaborators and supporters of the criminal [Syrian] regime” and several suspects in the cities of Salqin and Jisr al-Shughur in their respective countrysides.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham's security apparatus distributed photos in the area showing “the members of the Executive Force deployed as part of the crackdown on wanted people and suspects in the city of Jisr al-Shughur and its countryside.”
The security campaign was launched in the wake of a video published May 28 by a person in Idlib, which Hayat Tahrir al-Sham controls, who is seen congratulating President Bashar al-Assad after his reelection in last week's recent presidential vote.
On May 29, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said several cities and towns in the Idlib countryside were on high-security alert as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham operatives carried out a spate of arrests against individuals accused of supporting the Syrian government.
