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Washington Monitors 10,000 Qaeda Militants in Syria’s Idlib

Syrian men and civil defense volunteers search for survivors amid the rubble of a building following airstrike on the northwestern city of Idlib. (AFP)
Syrian men and civil defense volunteers search for survivors amid the rubble of a building following airstrike on the northwestern city of Idlib. (AFP)
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Washington Monitors 10,000 Qaeda Militants in Syria’s Idlib

Syrian men and civil defense volunteers search for survivors amid the rubble of a building following airstrike on the northwestern city of Idlib. (AFP)
Syrian men and civil defense volunteers search for survivors amid the rubble of a building following airstrike on the northwestern city of Idlib. (AFP)

Washington is currently monitoring the presence of around 10,000 Qaeda leaders and militants in Syria’s province of Idlib and Moscow has asked the US earlirt this year to halt airstrikes against leaders of the organization in the north and west of Syria, informed sources revealed on Monday.

The sources said that Washington did not accept to change the name of “al-Nusra Front” to “Fatah al-Sham Front” and its joining later the ranks of “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham”. It considered the move as a maneuver planned by the Syrian branch of Qaeda, which is listed in United Nations Security Council resolutions as a terrorist group.

“Idlib is not only the largest headquarters of the Qaeda worldwide, but it also includes 10,000 of the group’s most dangerous leaders and militants,” US officials said during closed-door meetings with their international and regional allies when speaking about al-Nusra and other ISIS and Qaeda-linked factions that support the group.

The sources also said that in addition to the Washington-led international coalition fighting ISIS in Syria’s Raqqa, the US recently began to focus on the province of Idlib, where it plans to launch a battle against the terror group, which means that the country will witness additional wars.

In the meantime, leader of Fatah al-Sham Abu Mohammad al-Joulani was planning to convince several moderate factions and religious figures to join his plan of establishing a “civil administration” in Idlib.

He also proposed to western diplomats a plan to send his militants to fight ISIS in eastern Syria.

However, the US responded to the proposal by saying: “Al-Nusra plans to hide behind a civil administration.”

Meanwhile, several donor states have started to reconsider whether they should continue to offer aid to civil and development institutions and agencies operating in Idlib.

In this regard, one German non-governmental agency decided to suspend aid delivery to Idlib, a decision which would negatively affect the lives of around 2 million civilians currently living in the province, including refugees from other areas.

Meanwhile, US and Russian officials held a meeting in Amman to follow up on the “southern Syria” truce agreement in Daraa, Quneitra and Souweida and to discuss a mechanism that monitors the ceasefire and observes how far Iranian-linked militias are from the Jordanian border.

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.