In northwestern Syria, not far from the Turkish border, the enclave of Idlib that no authority recognizes and which is administered by a jihadist group, a former branch of Al-Qaeda. Two million people live there. Aurélien Colly, permanent correspondent of Radio France in Beirut who had known this territory under the influence of armed clashes, discovered a completely different atmosphere.
The last time was war. The bombardments, the deaths, the populations in hiding, the activity at a standstill. Today, it is the Islamist group HTS, understand Hayat Tharir al Sham which manages Idlib and its surroundings. Two million people who live mainly on humanitarian aid have taken refuge there. Turkey has erected a wall to prevent Syrians from crossing and in the south Bashar Al-Assad equates the inhabitants of Idlib with terrorists, – they fought against the army of Damascus – but the Syrian regime is not the only one to consider them that way, since HTS is blacklisted as a terrorist organization. Aurélien Colly’s report, broadcast on France Culture on April 22, shows the extent to which jihadists seek to polish their image to obtain a more benevolent gaze from Westerners.
This province, which dreams of being autonomous but is not recognized by anyone, has been administered since an agreement was reached in 2020, by an Islamist group, which is a former branch of Al Qaeda … but which seems to have abandoned the objective to carry out a global Jihad to focus on the management of the province of Idlib.
To exercise his profession of reporter on the spot, an authorization from the Turkish authorities is essential. Then, thanks to the fixer of the ground, it is necessary to make contact with the jihadists of HTS who accompany the journalist in all his movements to preserve his safety. The slightest problem would tarnish the image of Hayat Tahrir Al Sham who wants both to develop a model of society specific to Islam but which is not radical for all that. A strategy of diplomatic seduction: changing the West’s view of the movement. International relations become an issue for this group in search of political credibility. On the other hand, the counterpart is easily guessed, the critical spirit, especially self-criticism is not their strong point. The reporter must be vigilant and it is outside the enclave that the journalist will find the opponents. In Idlib itself, you have to take the opportunity to talk with families, women, children, men.
The Syrian populations who have taken refuge and who have fought the army of Assad and their Russian allies also aspire to calm and the revival of an economy. It is also a notable change that Aurélien observes, people have returned to the streets and shops are opening. The fighting has been so fierce against forces in Moscow that refugees in Idlib cannot help but compare themselves to Ukrainians driven from their homes and thrown onto the roads of exile.
Syria, Ukraine, same method, same strategy, same Russian rhetoric too, according to Hussein. He lived through the siege of Aleppo in 2016. Today, he no longer fights but remains haunted by those weeks, surrounded, bombarded, despite the presence of thousands of civilians in the city. “It’s the same scenario that’s going on in Ukraine now. They’re surrounding on the pretext that they’re all Nazis. Like they said we were terrorists from Daesh or al-Nusra. That’s their techniqueexplains Hussein. They want to show the world that they are fighting terrorists or extremists. And with this excuse, they bomb everyone. Starting with civilians and not combatants.”