Warnings to Al-Sharaa: appointing foreign fighters to military positions damages relations with the West

Shafaq News/ US, French, and German diplomats warned the new Syrian administration on Friday that the appointment of foreign fighters to senior military positions poses a security concern and harms their image as they seek to establish ties with foreign nations.

Reuters cited two sources familiar with the matter, stating that the US warning, is a part of Western efforts to pressure Syria's new leaders to reconsider the decision, was made during a meeting between US envoy Daniel Rubinstein and the head of the new Syrian administration, Ahmad al-Sharaa, on Wednesday at the presidential palace in Damascus.

An American official told Reuters: "These appointments will not help them maintain their reputation in the United States."

A source familiar with the talks also stated that French and German Foreign Ministers, Jean-Noël Barrot and Annalena Baerbock, raised the issue of foreign fighters recruited into the Syrian military during their meeting with Al-Sharaa on January 3.

Hayaat Tahrir Al-Sham led an offensive that ousted former President Bashar Al-Assad on December 8. 

Since then, the new administration has been working to restructure the armed forces following the dissolution of the Syrian army after Assad's regime collapsed.

Late last year, Reuters reported that the group made around 50 appointments, including at least six foreign fighters, including Chinese, Uighurs from Central Asia, a Turkish national, an Egyptian, and a Jordanian.

A Syrian military source said three of the fighters were promoted to the rank of brigadier general, and at least three others were made colonels.

Hayaat Tahrir al-Sham and its allied groups include hundreds of foreign fighters who came to Syria during the 13-year civil war, many of whom hold radical interpretations of Islam.