Tahrir al-Sham replaces Jabhat Fateh al-Sham
Consolidation of power (January-August 2017)
January
Throughout January fierce fighting had broke out between the JFS and Al-Qaeda loyalists of Al-Nusra Front, before the JFS-Ahrar al-Sham merger to form Tahrir al-Sham (Syrian Liberation Committe) in January 28. Soon after the merger, Emir Abu Jaber Shaykh announced a ceasefire deal to unite all opposition militia factions into a central command. Some Turkish-backed FSA supporters pejoritavely named the newly formed organization "Hetish". The formation of HTS was described as a "reshaping of revolutionary dynamics" that could change the balance of power in the Syrian civil war and also adversely affect the future prospects of Al-Qaeda in northern Syria.On 30 January, it was reported by Asharq al-Awsat that there were around 31,000 fighters in Tahrir al-Sham. Fighters of Jaysh al-Ahrar, a breakway faction of Ahrar al-Sham militia, joined Tahrir al-Sham and increased its numbers.Leadership
Since October 2017, the "general commander" or emir of Tahrir al-Sham is Abu Mohammad al-Julani, who is also Tahrir al-Sham's "military commander"
and the emir of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, who also led its predecessor organisation al-Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda until 2016.Previously, the general commander of Tahrir al-Sham was Hashim al-Shaykh, also known as Abu Jaber, who was the leader of Ahrar al-Sham between September 2014 and September 2015. On 1 October 2017, Abu Jaber resigned from his position as the general leader of Tahrir al-Sham and was replaced by Abu Mohammad al-Julan. Abu Jaber took another position as the head of HTS's Shura council.Individuals in italic are defectors from Ahrar al-Sham, which either left to join Jabhat Fateh al-Sham in the last few days of its existence, or directly joined Tahrir al-Sham.