Struggle between armed factions in Idlib: Julani seeks to get rid of Shishani

Aya Ezz

The struggle between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Junud al-Sham in the Syrian province of Idlib continues, as HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani sent threatening messages to Muslim al-Shishani, the leader of Junud al-Sham. Shishani said that Julani wants to get rid of him and his group due to Junud al-Sham’s refusal to work under the umbrella of HTS.

Shishani added in a video clip that HTS leaders had promoted that Junud al-Sham was preparing with other groups to attack the leaders and headquarters of HTS, calling on HTS leaders to stop trying to get him into what he described as their “dirty political game.”

Shishani threatened to respond to the attempt to target his group, saying, “I tell you that you will not succeed in dragging us into your game, because we were previously far from internal problems, and we did not and will not interfere in them. If we decide to do something, we will do it to protect ourselves and not to interfere in this strife.”

The struggle between HTS and Junud al-Sham, which consists of elements coming from Chechnya, began at the end of June, after HTS tried to end the other faction’s presence, asking it to join HTS or leave Idlib.

On July 16, Shishani spoke in an audio recording of HTS raiding military headquarters in Jabal al-Turkmen in search of him after giving him a week’s notice to leave Syrian territory.

Shishani said at the time that all the elements coming from Chechnya intend to leave the Syrian territories, accompanied by their commander.

Shishani, whose real name is Murad Margoshvili, is of Chechen origin and hails from tribes living in Georgia. He has been classified by the US State Department as the “leader of an armed terrorist group” in Syria since 2014, when the department accused him of building a base for foreign fighters in Syria.

HTS’s attempts to dismantle Junud al-Sham came as part of the organization’s attempts to get rid of foreign elements in Idlib and monopolize control over the area, as HTS considers them a threat.

Only the Ansar al-Islam and Jundallah factions remained in Idlib who are outside HTS’s guardianship.

According to Syrian activist Muzamjar al-Sham, HTS has recently tried to reconnaissance the locations of Jundallah on the coast in preparation for a military campaign against it, adding, “The rest of the groups, such as Ansar al-Tawhid, Turkistan Islamic Party, Ajnad al-Kavkaz and Uzbek groups, are loyal to the organization and work under its supervision.”

To justify HTS’s actions in Idlib, HTS media relations official Taqi al-Din Omar said that the group is only arresting and besieging some of wanted persons and those with criminal records, adding that this is a general judicial procedure that includes everyone and is not restricted to a certain group. He claimed that some criminal elements have concealed themselves within these small groups, and it is the duty of the judicial authorities to follow them wherever they are.

“With our affirmation once again that Idlib and its fronts are open to all, our dispute is not with those who devote themselves to the fronts or who served the revolution in its various fields, but with a group that committed security and criminal issues that are being duly decided upon,” Omar added.