Report: Western Powers Warn Syria over Foreign Fighters in Army

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham fighters in Damascus. (Reuters)
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham fighters in Damascus. (Reuters)
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Report: Western Powers Warn Syria over Foreign Fighters in Army

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham fighters in Damascus. (Reuters)
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham fighters in Damascus. (Reuters)

US, French and German envoys have warned Syria's new rulers that their appointment of foreign fighters to senior military posts is a security concern and bad for their image as they try to forge ties with foreign states, two sources familiar with the matter said.

The warning from the US, part of Western efforts to get Syria's new leaders to reconsider the move, was delivered in a meeting between US envoy Daniel Rubinstein and Syria's de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday at the presidential palace overlooking Damascus, a US official said.

"These appointments will not help them with their reputation in the US," the official said.

The foreign ministers of France and Germany, Jean-Noel Barrot and Annalena Baerbock, also broached the issue of foreign fighters drafted into the army during their meeting with Sharaa on Jan. 3, an official aware of the talks said.

Reuters reported the appointments on Dec. 30. The envoys' comments on the appointments have not previously been reported.

Sharaa's armed group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, led an offensive that ousted former president Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8 and has since installed a government and disbanded the Assad-era army. It is now making efforts to reconstitute the armed forces.

Late last year, it made nearly 50 appointments including at least six foreign fighters, among them Chinese and central Asian Uyghurs, a Turkish citizen, an Egyptian and a Jordanian, Reuters reported at the time.

Three were given the rank of brigadier-general and at least three others the rank of colonel, a Syrian military source said.

HTS and allied groups have hundreds of foreign fighters in their ranks who came to Syria during the country's 13-year civil war, many of them followers of hardline interpretations of Islam.

Foreign capitals generally view foreign fighters as a key security threat as they suspect that some may seek to carry out attacks in their home countries after gaining experience abroad.

Officials of the new Syrian administration have said foreign fighters made sacrifices to help overthrow Assad and would have a place in Syria, adding they could be granted citizenship.

The Syrian defense ministry did not respond to a request for comment. The German foreign ministry did not comment.

A State Department spokesperson said Washington is in a continuing dialogue with the interim authorities in Damascus.

"Discussions have been constructive and have covered a wide range of domestic and international issues," the spokesperson said, adding there has been "tangible progress on counter-terrorism priorities, including ISIS."

The US official and a Western source said that Damascus explained the appointments of foreign fighters by saying they could not simply be sent back home or abroad where they may face persecution, and it was better to keep them in Syria.

The US official said authorities also explained that these people had helped rid Syria of Assad and some had been in the country for more than 10 years and so were part of society.



Syria, Lebanon Pledge Firm Ties after Years of Tensions

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meet with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria, January 11, 2025. (Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham/Handout via Reuters)
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meet with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria, January 11, 2025. (Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham/Handout via Reuters)
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Syria, Lebanon Pledge Firm Ties after Years of Tensions

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meet with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria, January 11, 2025. (Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham/Handout via Reuters)
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meet with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria, January 11, 2025. (Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham/Handout via Reuters)

Syria's new ruler and Lebanon's prime minister pledged on Saturday to build lasting ties during the first visit by a Lebanese head of government to Damascus since the start of the civil war in 2011.  

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati's trip came after Islamist-led rebels seized Damascus last month, bringing an end to the rule of Bashar al-Assad.  

Previous Lebanese governments refrained from visits to Syria amid tensions at home over the Hezbollah group’s support for Assad during the conflict.

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said he hoped to turn over a new leaf in relations, days after crisis-hit Lebanon finally elected a president this week following two years of deadlock.

"There will be long-term strategic relations between us and Lebanon. We and Lebanon have great shared interests," said Sharaa.  

It was time to "give the Syrian and Lebanese people a chance to build a positive relationship", he said, adding that he hoped Joseph Aoun's presidency would usher in an era of stability in Lebanon.  

Sharaa said the new Syria would "stay at equal distance from all" in Lebanon, and "try to solve problems through negotiations and dialogue".  

Mikati said new ties should be based on "mutual respect, equality and national sovereignty".  

- Syrian refugees -  

Syria was the dominant power in Lebanon for three decades under the Assad family, with President Hafez al-Assad intervening in its 1975-1990 civil war and his son Bashar only withdrawing Syria's troops in 2005 following mass protests triggered by the assassination of Lebanese ex-prime minister Rafic Hariri, which was widely blamed on Damascus.

After mending ties with Damascus, his son Saad Hariri was the last Lebanese premier to visit the Syrian capital in 2010 before the civil war.  

Taking office on Thursday, Aoun swore he would seize the "historic opportunity to start serious... dialogue with the Syrian state".  

With Hezbollah weakened after two months of full-scale war with Israel late last year and Assad now gone, Syrian and Lebanese leaders seem eager to work to solve long-pending issues.  

Among them is the presence of some two million Syrian refugees that Lebanon says have sought shelter on its territory since the Syrian war started.  

Their return to Syria had become "an urgent matter in the interest of both countries", Mikati said.  

Lebanese authorities have for years complained that hosting so many Syrians has become a burden for the tiny Mediterranean country which has been wracked by the worst economic crisis in its history since 2019.  

Mikati also said it was a priority "to draw up the land and sea borders between Lebanon and Syria", calling for a joint committee to be set up to discuss the matter.  

Under Assad, Syria repeatedly refused to delimit its borders with its neighbor.  

Lebanon has been hoping to draw the maritime border so that it can begin offshore gas extraction after reaching a similar agreement with Israel in 2022.  

Mikati was accompanied on his visit by Lebanon's foreign minister Abdullah Bou Habib, the head of Lebanon's general security agency, which is responsible for border management, and the head of Lebanon's military intelligence.

- 'Smuggling' -  

The Lebanese premier said both sides had stressed the need for "complete control of (land) borders, especially over illicit border points, to stem smuggling".

Syria shares a 330-kilometer (205-mile) border with Syria with no official demarcation at several points, making it porous and prone to smuggling.  

Syria imposed new restrictions on the entry of Lebanese citizens last week, following what the Lebanese army said was a border skirmish with unnamed armed Syrians.  

Lebanese nationals had previously been allowed into Syria without a visa, using just their passport or ID card.  

A string of foreign dignitaries have headed to Damascus in recent weeks to meet the new leaders, with a delegation from Oman also in town earlier on Saturday.  

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani visited Damascus on Friday, while France's Jean-Noel Barrot and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock did last week.  

Shaibani has visited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan since the start of the month, and said Friday he would head to Europe soon.  

Syria's war has killed more than half a million people and ravaged the country's economy since starting in 2011 with the brutal crackdown of anti-Assad protests.