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Source: https://jcpa.org/syrias-sunni-sharia-state-solidifying-control-in-damascus-but-challenged-elsewhere/
Syria's Sunni Sharia State Solidifying Control in Damascus but Challenged Elsewhere
(Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs) JCFA Syria Desk - Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the terrorist derivative of al-Qaeda/al-Nusra, may have seized control of Damascus and Syria's major cities but is being challenged by other centers of power both inside and outside the country. Syria's regional neighbors who want a piece of Syrian territory include its erstwhile ally Turkey, which has occupied portions of northern Syria. Domestic opposition to the new regime includes several small Islamist groups, Kurdish democratic elements, and ethnic Druze minorities, as well as former Assad regime Alawite clusters mostly in western Syria.