Syria's new rulers have installed some foreign fighters including Uyghurs, a Jordanian and a Turk in the country's armed forces as Damascus tries to shape a patchwork of opposition groups into a professional military, two Syrian sources said.
The move to give official roles, including senior ones, to several “jihadists” may alarm some foreign governments and Syrian citizens fearful about the new administration's intentions, despite its pledges not “to export Islamic revolution” and to rule with tolerance towards Syria's large minority groups.
A Syrian government spokesperson did not reply to a Reuters request for comment on the thinking behind the appointments.
The sources said that out of a total of almost 50 military roles announced by the Defense Ministry on Sunday, at least six had gone to foreigners.
Reuters was not able to independently verify the nationalities of the individuals appointed.
Ahmed al-Sharaa, the HTS-leader-turned de facto ruler of Syria, said Sunday the new Syria "cannot be run by the mentality of groups and militias.”
Syria's new rulers, drawn mainly from HTS, have indicated that foreign fighters and their families may be given Syrian citizenship and be allowed to stay in the country because of their contributions to the fight against deposed Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
The Defense Ministry on Sunday announced 49 appointments to the army that included leaders of key Syrian armed factions.
Among them were several foreign fighters, three given the rank of brigadier-general and at least three others the rank of colonel, a Syrian military source said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said many of those appointed were close to Sharaa, including at least six foreigners either from HTS or aligned with it.
In Sunday's decree, two men were given the rank of general, five were made brigadier generals and around 40 made colonels.
One of the generals is HTS's military chief Murhaf Abu Qasra, who has been tipped to become defense minister in the transitional government.
Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory, told AFP that "most of those who have been promoted are people within Ahmed al-Sharaa's inner circle.”
The monitor said it had identified six "foreign jihadists" among those promoted, including an Albanian, a Jordanian, a Tajik, a Turk and a Uyghur.
Aymenn al-Tamimi, an expert on “jihadist” groups and the Syrian conflict, said he too had identified foreigners on the list.
He mentioned a Uyghur, a Jordanian and a Turk who "headed the block of Turkish fighters under HTS, and is now a brigadier general.”
