US revokes foreign terrorist designation for Syria’s HTS

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s administration on July 7 revoked the foreign terrorist organisation (FTO) designation for Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), as Washington moves to remove US sanctions on Syria to help the country rebuild following years of civil war.

In December, Islamist rebels led by HTS ousted Syria’s former president Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive. Then HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa became Syria’s president and said he wanted to build an inclusive and democratic Syria.

HTS was previously known as Nusra Front when it was terrorist network Al-Qaeda’s Syria branch. It broke off ties with Al-Qaeda in 2016.

In May, Mr Sharaa met Mr Trump in Riyadh, where, in a major policy shift, the Republican President unexpectedly announced he would lift US sanctions on Syria, prompting Washington to significantly ease its measures.

“This FTO revocation is an important step in fulfilling President Trump’s vision of a stable, unified and peaceful Syria,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, adding that the revocation will come into effect on July 8.

Last week, Mr Trump

signed an executive order

terminating the US sanctions programme on Syria, a move that aims to end the country’s isolation from the international financial system.

Syria’s Foreign Ministry told Reuters that the lifting of sanctions on HTS was a “positive step towards correcting a course that previously hindered constructive engagement”. The written statement said Syria hoped the move would “contribute to the removal of remaining restrictions that continue to impact Syrian institutions and officials, and open the door to a rational, sovereign-based approach to international cooperation”.

The ministry also said Mr Sharaa was planning to attend the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September. The UN Security Council still has sanctions on both HTS and Mr Sharaa himself, which require a council decision to remove. REUTERS