UN: Sanctions Lifted on Hayat Tahrir al-Sham

The UN Security Council announced the lifting of sanctions on Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former Islamist organization with ties to al-Qaeda. The decision was made by the sanctions committee and announced in New York.

HTS had been included on the sanctions list due to its previous links with al-Qaeda. In 2014, the Security Council had added the al-Nusra Front, then al-Qaeda's branch in Syria, as well as Ahmed al-Sara to the sanctions list.

In 2016, the organization announced that it was severing ties with al-Qaeda and renamed itself Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. In December 2024, Ahmed al-Sara announced the 'dissolution' of all armed factions involved in the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, including HTS.

Ahmed al-Sara himself was removed from the UN sanctions list in November, following a decision by the Security Council.

The decision to lift sanctions on HTS constitutes a significant development in the international regime governing the transitional political reality in Syria.