Syria’s new leaders are reported to have given some foreign Islamist fighters senior official posts in the Syrian Armed Forces.
The army is being re-organised by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – the Islamist group that is now effectively in charge of the country – following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad earlier this month.
While there has been no confirmation of the move by the new leadership, it is likely to raise concerns inside and outside Syria over the role radicalised foreigner in Syrian Armed Forces could play in the country’s future.
Several Syrian sources have deduced that out of almost 50 new military roles that have been announced, at least six have gone to foreigners.
Based on the names that have been published, they are said to include Chinese Uyghurs, a Jordanian and a Turkish national. All are said to have been given high-ranking positions as colonels or brigadier-generals.
The role of foreign fighters in various armed groups during the civil war is one that stirs strong feelings in Syria.
Thousands of fighters from many different countries joined the uprising against Assad as it became an all-out armed conflict when mass protests were met with violence by the security forces.
Some formed their own groups and others provided the core of the Islamic State group, which took control of large regions in the east of Syria.
