Qatari officials are in contact with the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which spearheaded the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, as well as other groups in Syria, an official briefed on the developments told AFP today.
“The Qataris have established the first channel of communication with HTS. Communication with HTS and Qatari diplomats are expected to continue in the next 24 hours with Al Bashir,” the official said on condition of anonymity, referring to senior rebel Mohammed Bashir.
Qatar — which was one of the main backers of the armed rebellion that erupted after Assad’s government crushed a peaceful uprising in 2011 — had been a stern critic of the ousted leader.
The official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions, added the “focus of the communication with HTS and others is on the need… to maintain calm and preserve Syria’s public institutions during the transition period”.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari, while declining to say whether his country was speaking to HTS specifically, had previously said the Gulf emirate was “in contact with all the groups that we have always been in contact with within the Syrian mosaics”.
– AFP