US gives nod to Syria to bring foreign militant ex-rebels into army
3,500 foreign fighters will join a newly-formed unit, the 84th Syrian army division, which will also include Syrians, according to three Syrian defence officials
By Reuters
The United States has given its blessing to a plan by Syria’s new leadership to incorporate thousands of foreign militant former rebel fighters into the national army, provided that it does so transparently, President Donald Trump’s envoy said.
Three Syrian defence officials said that under the plan, some 3,500 foreign fighters, mainly Uyghurs from China and neighbouring countries, would join a newly-formed unit, the 84th Syrian army division, which would also include Syrians.
Asked by Reuters in Damascus whether Washington approved the integration of foreign fighters into Syria’s new military, Thomas Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey who was named Trump’s special envoy to Syria last month, said: “I would say there is an understanding, with transparency.”
He said it was better to keep the fighters, many of whom are “very loyal” to Syria’s new administration, within a state project than to exclude them.
top military posts had alarmed Western governments, raising concerns over the direction of Syria’s new Islamist leadership.
Demands to freeze the appointments and expel rank-and-file foreign fighters became a key point of contention with Washington and other Western countries up until the week of Trump’s landmark meeting with Sharaa.
Sharaa has said that foreign fighters and their families may be granted Syrian citizenship due to their role in fighting Assad.
Abbas Sharifa, a Damascus-based expert on militant groups, said the fighters being included in the army had shown loyalty to Syria’s leadership and were “ideologically filtered”.
But “if you abandon them they become prey to Daesh or other radical groups” he said.
About The Author
