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Al-Nusra Front cuts ties with al-Qaida and renames itself Al-Nusra Front cuts ties with al-Qaida and renames itself
(about 1 hour later)
The leader of the Syrian Islamist rebel group al-Nusra Front has said it is cutting its ties with al-Qaida in order to deny foreign powers – including the US and Russia – a pretext to attack Syrians. The leader of Jabhat al-Nusra, one of the most powerful jihadi groups in Syria, has announced that the group is breaking its link with al-Qaida and changing its name, in an apparent attempt to be removed from the US list of proscribed terror groups.
Listed as a terrorist organisation by the US, al-Nusra Front was excluded from a truce negotiated in February. Russia and the US are discussing closer coordination to fight the group. But within hours of its announcement, Washington declared that the rebrand did not amount to a remake and said the faction remained a target for US fighter jets, which have sought the group across northern Syria for the past two years.
Appearing in a video, Abu Mohammad al-Golani showed his face in a public announcement for the first time. “We have stopped operating under the name of al-Nusra Front and formed a new body ... This new formation has no ties with any foreign party,” he said, giving the group’s new name as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham. The name change was announced by al-Nusra Front leader Abu Mohamed al-Jolani, in a debut video appearance.
He said the step was being taken “to remove the excuse used by the international community – spearheaded by America and Russia – to bombard and displace Muslims in the Levant: that they are targeting al-Nusra Front, which is associated with al-Qaida”. “We have stopped operating under the name of Nusra Front and formed a new body ... This new formation has no ties with any foreign party,” he said, giving the group’s new name as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham – the front for the liberation of al-Sham, the historical Arabic name for the Levantine region.
Golani said the action would narrow differences with other rebel groups that are also fighting to topple the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad.
Al-Qaida’s leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, had earlier given his blessing to al-Nusra Front to break organisational ties with the global jihadi organisation in the interest of preserving its unity and continuing its fight in Syria.
Related: Syria's al-Nusra Front – ruthless, organised and taking controlRelated: Syria's al-Nusra Front – ruthless, organised and taking control
Golani thanked Zawahri for putting the interests of Muslims and the people of the Levant over organisational interests. He said the change was intended “to remove the excuse used by the international community – spearheaded by America and Russia – to bombard and displace Muslims in the Levant: that they are targeting the Nusra Front, which is associated with al-Qaida”.
In a recording that emerged earlier on Thursday, Ahmed Hassan Abu el-Kheir – Zawahri’s deputy – said the organisation instructed “the leadership of al-Nusra Front to go ahead with what protects the interests of Islam and Muslims and what protects jihad” in Syria. The announcement came nearly five years after al-Jolani led an advance guard of jihadis from Iraq into Syria to launch the organisation, which became one of the strongest groups fighting against the forces of Syria president Bashar al-Assad and his allies.
He also urged al-Nusra Front to unite with other factions against “crusaders” and form a good “Islamic government”. Since then al-Nusra Front’s fortunes had surged and ebbed. After being usurped as the principle jihadi group in Syria by Islamic State in early 2013, the group formally allied with al-Qaida, a move that earned it expertise, personnel and money from the group’s central leadership in Afghanistan, and its backers.
“We will be the first to support it,” Abu el-Kheir said in his six-minute recording. It also drew the attention of the US and Europe, which came to believe that al-Nusra Front leaders were focused well beyond Syria. In addition to fighting the Assad regime and squaring off with other rebel groups, intelligence officials alleged that al-Qaida figures attached to al-Nusra Front were using the chaos of the war as a staging ground for terror attacks in Europe.
The message also included a brief comment from Zawahri, saying: “The brotherhood of Islam is stronger than any organisational links that change and go away.” It was not clear when he made those recorded comments. The group’s senior leadership was repeatedly bombed by US jets across Idlib province in late 2014. More than 18 months later, western officials believe the threat from al-Nusra Front affiliates has greatly diminished. After Russian jets joined the fray last October, the group’s fortunes have fallen even further. However, it retains a formidable presence in Idlib and in western Aleppo and now rivals Ahrar al-Sham for pre-eminence in the Syrian opposition in the north.
Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report. Al-Qaida cleared the path for al-Nusra Front to break away on Thursday, with a spokesman declaring that the group was free to do as it wished if it served the interests of those fighting Assad.
Ahmed Hassan Abu al-Khayr, who was identified as a deputy of al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri released an audio message, saying: “We direct the leadership of al-Nusra Front to go ahead with what preserves the good of Islam and the Muslims, and protects the jihad of the Syrian people.”
That announcement spoke to al-Nusra Front’s second motivation for re-branding: to position itself as a popular revolutionary movement, instead of a group committed to global jihad, which used Syria as a means to an end.
Its foes remain unconvinced. The US state department said it has so far seen no reason to change its view of the group, and would judge it on its actions, goals, and ideology.
Jolani, whose birth name is Ahmed Hussein al-Shara’a, had remained hidden throughout the war. However, he appeared unmasked and relaxed as he read from a script while flanked by two other militants.
The debut appearance seemed aimed at establishing a connection with Syrian opposition groups and communities supporting them, where Jolani had remained a phantom-like figure and the organisation he led had been regarded as ruthless hardline, and at odds with nationalistic goals.
While committing Jabhat Fateh al-Sham to continuing the fight against the Assad regime and its backers, Jolani made no mention of a change of ideology or approach and said he remained committed to implementing Islamic law. The apparently amicable split with al-Qaida would suggest no substantive change has taken place.
Officials in London said that al-Nusra Front would remain a long term threat to global security, no matter its reconfigurement. One official said that the group’s capacity to launch attacks outside of Syria had diminished, but its will to do so remained high.
“They have learned a lot from al-Qaida in that they play a much longer game than Isis,” the official said. “They do community outreach better, and they bring people along better. They are very patient.”