Beirut | Days before his forces toppled Syria’s Assad regime, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani triumphantly walked up the steps of Aleppo’s medieval citadel, dressed head to toe in khaki and flanked by unarmed guards.
On that appearance in Syria’s second city, captured as part of rebel groups’ lightning offensive across the country, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was swarmed by supporters.