Two rebel groups are leading the push. One is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham ( HTS ), which emerged from al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate. It cut ties with the jihadist group in 2017 and has since set up a provisional government in rebel-held Idlib province in north-west Syria. The other faction, the Syrian National Army ( SNA ), is a Turkish proxy.

The weakening of the Damascus dictator’s allies, Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah, together with the coincidence of the truce between Israel and the Lebanese militia and the transition in Washington, expla