The USA approved the plan of her new leadership Syria To incorporate thousands of foreign jihadists, former guerrilla fighters into the national army, provided he will do so with transparency, said President Donald Trump’s expert envoy.
At least until the beginning of May, the US required the new Syrian government to exclude foreign fighters from security forces. But Washington’s attitude towards Syria changed completely after Donald Trump’s tour of the Middle East last month. The US president agreed to lift sanctions in Syria, met with transitional President Ahmed al -Saraa in Riyadh and appointed Barack, a close friend, a special envoy to Syria.
Three Syrian defense officials said that on the basis of this plan, about 3,500 foreign fighters, mainly Uyera from China and neighboring countries, will join a newly established unit, the 84th Division, which will also be served by Syrian soldiers.
When asked by the Reuters agency if Washington approves the inclusion of foreign fighters into the new Syrian army, Thomas Barak, the US Ambassador to Turkey and Trump’s special envoy to Syria, replied: “I would say there is a deal.”
According to Barack, it is preferable for these fighters, many of whom are “very loyal” to the new Syrian administration, to join a state plan, rather than excluded.
The fate of the foreigners who joined the guerrillas of the Hayatt Tahrir al -Sam during the 13 -year -old Syrian civil war was one of the issues that were considered “thorns” in Damascus’ approach with the West after the overthrow of Bashar al -Assad’s regime. Hayat Tahrir Al Sam (HTS) was once al -Qaeda’s offshoot.
Two sources adjacent to the Syrian Ministry of Defense told Reuters that Saraa and his associates were arguing with their Western interlocutors that the integration of former former guerrillas in the army would suggest a lesser risk of security than their abandonment, which could lead them to their abandonment.
The State Department and a Syrian government spokesman did not respond to a request for a comment.
China’s concerns
Thousands of foreign Sunni Muslims joined the Syrian rebels at the beginning of the civil war against Assad, who had the support of Shiite militias, assisted by Iran. Some of these fighters formed their own teams while others joined organizations such as the Islamic State, which attempted to establish a “caliphate” in Syrian and Iraqi territories but eventually dismantled, an attack by US or Iranian -supporting forces.
Foreign HTS fighters had the reputation of faithful, disciplined and experienced soldiers and were the backbone of the so -called “suicide units” of the organization. They fought the Islamic State and other al -Qaeda factions after 2016, when HTS took distances from the organization founded by Osama bin Liden.
Uyere fighters from China and Central Asia are members of the Islamic Party of Turistan (Tip), an organization that is terroristically terrorized by Beijing. A Syrian official and a foreign diplomat said that China sought to ban the team’s influence in Syria.
“China hopes that Syria will resist any form of terrorism and extremist forces in response to the concerns of the international community,” said a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman.
Osman Bougra, a TIP political official, responded in writing to the Reuters agency that the team had officially dissolved and incorporated into the Syrian army. “It operates fully under the orders of the Ministry of Defense, observes national policy and does not maintain ties with external entities or organizations,” he added.
In December, the appointment of foreign jihadists, former HTS leaders, in the leading positions of the Armed Forces, has upset Western governments. The demands for freezing these appointments and the expulsion of the low -ranking foreign fighters were multiplied until Trump’s meeting with Saraa.
The latter has stated that foreign fighters and their families can be given Syrian citizenship because of the role they played in the overthrow of Assad.
Abbas Sarifa, a specialist in Damascus -based jihadist organizations, said that the fighters incorporated into the army have proven to be loyal to the Syrian leadership and “ideologically filtered”. But “if we abandon them, they will become the Islamic State or other radical groups,” he said.