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Inside HTS: what does Al-Jolani want and how will they rule?
There are literally a tiny number of people in this world who can speak with authority and insight on Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham - or HTS - the militant group that swept into Damascus a week ago. One of those people is Orwa Ajjoub, a Sweden-based academic of Syrian origin who has been studying this group for several years and who has direct contacts inside the group.
I feel incredibly privileged to have had an extensive conversation with Orwa about HTS's origins, their evolving relationship with jihadism, their intentions and ambitions now in power and whether Al-Jolani is genuinely no longer part…
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