Abu Mohammed Al-Golani tells CNN he has distanced himself from jihadists; says all foreign forces including U.S, Russia, Turkey and Iran should leave Syria; tries to calm concerns of danger from Sunni extremists and hopes Syrians displace by civil war, return
Abu Mohammed Al-Golani, leader of the rebels in Syria, said in an interview on Friday that his aim is to topple the regime of Bashar al Assad while his troops were advancing on the central Syria city of Homs and were reportedly on the outskirts of the strategically important city.
Golani, leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) a former al Qaida affiliate group, told CNN that he intended to rebuild Syria and bring Syrian refugees back from Lebanon and Syria after the escaped the fighting in the decade long civil war.
The United States designated the HTS a terror organization and announced a 10 million dollar reward for the capture of Golani
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said thousands of people had begun fleeing from Homs on Thursday night towards the Mediterranean coastal regions of Latakia and Tartus, strongholds of the government.
A coastal resident said thousands of people had begun arriving there from Homs, fearing the rebels’ rapid advance.
Wasim Marouh, a resident of Homs city who decided not to leave, said most of its main commercial streets were empty and only a few grocery shops were open as pro-government militia groups were roaming the streets.
Thousands of families had rushed out of the city overnight and traffic jams held up cars for hours, he said.
Golani claimed he had changed since his days with the al Qaida affiliated Jabhat Al Nusra group. He tried to ease concerns that his forces pose any danger to non Sunni religious populations and said all ethnic groups had lived in coexistence in Syria for hundreds of years.
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“People who fear Islamic governance either have seen incorrect implementations of it or do not understand it properly,” he told CNN in the interview, claiming reports of abuse of civilians by the rebel army were minor incidents that were dealt with and insisting he had severed ties with Jihadist groups.
The rebel leader said he hoped to see all foreign forces leave Syria including the Americans, Russians, Turks Iranians and their proxies and that the fall of the Assad regime would facilitate that.