Syria’s main insurgent group blasts the US Embassy over its criticism of crackdown on protesters

By GHAITH ALSAYED
Associated Press

IDLIB, Syria (AP) — The main insurgent group in rebel-held northwest Syria has blasted the United States over its criticism of a crackdown on protesters in areas outside government control. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham said Thursday that the U.S. should instead respect protesters at American universities demonstrating against the war in Gaza. The statement by the U.S. Embassy in Damascus came after months of protests against Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province against the rule of the group that was once known as Nusra Front, the Syria branch of al-Qaida. The group later changed its name several times and distanced itself from al-Qaida.