Damascus has reportedly declared a group that helped it topple the previous government a security threat
The new Syrian authorities have reportedly launched a large-scale military campaign targeting the remaining foreign Jihadist forces in the northwestern province of Idlib. The effort is particularly focused on militants hailing from France, reports suggest. The government has declared the groups that once aided it in toppling former President Bashar Assad a security threat.
Clashes reportedly erupted as government forces stormed the so-called “French camp” in the city of Harem, western Idlib overnight, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (SOHR). Both sides allegedly suffered casualties in the standoff but the exact figure is unclear. At least two jihadists were arrested. The camp is run by foreign fighters led by a French national of Senegalese origin, Omar Omsen, according to the authorities.
The Syrian General Security Service stated its goal was to arrest Omsen and stabilize the situation in the area. A Telegram channel affiliated with the jihadists published a statement by their leader claiming that the government was acting in coordination with the US and an “international coalition” seeking to eliminate all foreign militants in Syria. He also reportedly threatened Damascus with Jihadi ire by citing support from other foreign militant groups.
The government of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa is facing threats from the very same forces that helped it ascend to power last November, the Washington Post reported in May.
READ MORE: Syrian leader threatened by militants who put him in power – WaPo
Le Monde reported in 2023 that almost 200 French nationals, including militants and their family members, fled to Idlib after the fall of Islamic State in 2019. The paper called them “diehard French jihadists” at the time.
According to WaPo’s May report, “hard-line Sunni Muslim militants” were involved in massacres of Alawites along the Syrian coast in March, killing at least 1,300 people. Some of them also turned their ire on al-Sharaa, particularly after his meeting with US President Donald Trump. The talks led to the lifting of sanctions imposed against Syria but reportedly made the interim president an “infidel” in the radicals’ eyes.
