Rebel Group’s Terrorist Label Could Hinder Efforts to Aid Syria

A few weeks ago, world leaders likely were not thinking about Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its designation as a terrorist organization.

But now, the rebel faction that drove a surprise offensive that toppled the Assad regime is Syria’s de facto government.

Suddenly, that terrorist label — used by the United States, the United Nations and others — has became a matter of international concern and debate.

The designation means that countries and international organizations are severely restricted in providing aid to a Syrian government that desperately needs it to assert control, provide basic services and rebuild after years of war.

Those limits could have broad consequences for Syria and the Middle East, with analysts and regional officials warning that a weak and fractured state would incubate terror groups like the Islamic State. Some experts contend that now is the time to offer Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist group, a prompt path to legitimacy.

“This is that period when things fail,” said Kirsten Fontenrose, a senior fellow in the Atlantic Council Middle East program who served on the National Security Council during the Trump administration. After a regime falls, power vacuums can fill quickly, she argued, so the international community should draft a reconstruction blueprint for Syria that acknowledges Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and offers it financial incentives to transform into a political unit with no paramilitary, supportive of free and fair elections.