Newly released reports suggest that the new Syrian leadership has appointed several foreign Islamist militants to prominent positions within the country’s military. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist faction now in control of Syria after the ousting of former President Bashar al-Assad earlier this month, is reportedly overseeing a reorganization of the military. While the new leadership has not officially confirmed these appointments, their potential impact is expected to stir concerns both domestically and internationally about the influence of foreign militants on Syria’s future.
This development coincides with reports indicating that Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s newly established de facto leader, has engaged in separate talks with Kurdish and Christian representatives. These two communities have expressed significant apprehension about the new authorities’ possible agenda. According to Syrian sources, at least six foreign nationals are among the nearly 50 new military appointments. The individuals reportedly include Uyghurs from China, a Jordanian, and a Turkish national, all of whom have been placed in senior roles, such as colonels or brigadier generals.
The involvement of foreign fighters in Syria’s civil war has been a highly contentious issue. Thousands of militants from various countries joined the opposition against Assad after the government’s violent crackdown on mass protests escalated the conflict into a full-scale civil war. Foreign jihadists, in particular, were accused of attempting to impose their extremist ideologies on Syria—a development that many Syrians, across all communities, now reject as unacceptable in the country’s future.
These foreign fighters were often integrated into different armed factions, with some contributing to the formation of the Islamic State (IS), the one that seized control of significant territories in eastern Syria. HTS, long accused by its opponents of being dominated by foreign jihadists, was particularly targeted by Assad supporters as a means of delegitimizing the group, especially during its final offensive against the regime. However, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led HTS in Idlib before becoming Syria’s de facto ruler, had been working to reduce the number of foreign fighters within his organization in an effort to present HTS as a more nationalist force, rather than an overtly jihadist one.
Since assuming power, al-Sharaa has consistently emphasized the goal of a unified Syria, where all communities are treated with respect and have a stake in the country’s future. On Tuesday, a Syrian official confirmed that the first round of talks between al-Sharaa and representatives of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had taken place and yielded positive results. The SDF, supported by the United States, controls much of northeastern Syria. However, Turkey, which backs HTS, regards the SDF as a terrorist group, raising concerns about a possible confrontation.
Al-Sharaa has also met with senior Christian clergy members, as Syria’s Christian minority has long been wary of the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. While HTS was once associated with such extremism, al-Sharaa has gradually adopted a more moderate stance. He has reiterated his commitment to creating an inclusive Syria, where all communities have a role to play, and he is preparing for a National Dialogue Conference to facilitate the process of reconciliation and cooperation.
