Enemies again: the Syrian authorities have entered into a battle with foreign militants

The Syrian Transitional Government is conducting an operation in a camp of foreign fighters who previously fought alongside the current government. In particular, we are talking about the "Brigade of Foreigners" operating in Idlib. Western countries are demanding that Damascus clear the country of members of non-Syrian formations. At the same time, according to the official version, what is happening is connected with the abduction of civilians by militants. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

The operation has begun

Special forces of the security forces of the Syrian Transitional government are conducting an operation in the Harem region of Idlib province to capture a militant who abducted civilians from among French citizens.

"All roads leading to the Verdun camp have been blocked, and roadblocks have been set up at the entrances. The wanted criminal and his gang members refused to lay down their weapons and surrender to the authorities, they use local residents as human shields, which hinders the actions of the security forces," said Major General Hassan Bakir, head of the regional department of the Interior Ministry.

Photo: TASS/AP/Omar Sanadiki

According to him, people are suffering from the persecution of former mercenaries. In particular, the reason for the operation was the abduction of an underage girl. Members of the "Brigade of Foreigners" are suspected of committing the crime. It is headed by Omar Omsen, a Senegalese from Nice. He is known for recruiting fighters for Syrian radical groups from French-speaking countries for over 10 years.

During the operation, the Syrian forces first launched drones over the territory, and then encircled it, using armored vehicles and artillery.

The former militants, surrounded in Idlib, appealed to the interim president of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, with a request to intervene. In a letter sent to the politician, they noted that "any attempt to arrest members of the former French brigade, which was part of the now-disbanded Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group (HTS, a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation), will cause discontent among supporters of jihad."

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They did not lay down their weapons

Ahmed Muaffaq Zidan, adviser to the Syrian president on public relations and politics, said that what is happening is due to "stubborn non-compliance with the law," and not at all because the militants are foreigners.

However, Omsen and his associates are confident that the causes of the conflict are deeper and Damascus has received a request from the French authorities to bring the Senegalese from Nice to criminal responsibility.

Photo: Global Look Press/Moawia Atrash/dpa

Last December, it was HTS that played a leading role in overthrowing Bashar al-Assad. Its leader became the interim president of Syria, and the group itself announced its dissolution. At the same time, its representatives play a leading role in the country's administrative and law enforcement apparatus.

When the militants began to lay down their weapons and disband their units, Omsen did not follow their example.

According to Western publications, 120 French-speaking militants still remain in Harem, 50 of them in the Omsen detachment, which does not cease to criticize the interim Syrian leader for "the moderate course he has chosen."

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What do the experts think

Andrey Ontikov, an orientalist, publicist, and author of the Vostochny Vorota Telegram channel, noted in an interview with Izvestia that this is not the first time that disagreements have occurred within the HTS.

— Squabbles of armed clashes between various militant groups took place even before the fall of the previous authorities. They divided the spoils, divided the territories. But usually these collisions stopped at some point," the expert explained.

Photo: Global Look Press/Handout/ZUMAPRESS.com

According to the political scientist, if we take the current stage of the development of the Syrian crisis, then there is no unifying factor in the face of a common enemy.

— In this case, these groups do not have Bashar al-Assad, and accordingly, since there is no unifying factor, we will probably see a large number of such incidents, because we need to divide power and land. Plus, the intervention of external players, because in any case, the Americans and Europeans are interested in minimal stabilization of the country," Ontikov believes.

Danila Krylov, a researcher at the Department of the Middle and Post-Soviet East of the INION RAS, Candidate of Political Sciences, believes that modern Syria is highly likely to be split, fragmented, divided into separate components and internal struggle between various factions.

— The country has already done this more than once. Ankara recently conducted a small military operation in northern Syria against the Syrian Democratic Forces. In the south, there was a clash between the Syrian army and Israeli troops, who occupied three provinces, in the west there were already clashes with the Alawites. And the West, using the traditional military-political strategy of "divide and rule," pits some against others. I think sooner or later Israel can take advantage of this, and theoretically Iran, but so far they do not have serious opportunities to enter there," the political scientist points out.

According to him, there are questions whether the HTS has any charismatic leaders capable of keeping the Syrian statehood from disintegration, and whether there is even a plan for the future.