Syria's new rulers have reportedly given senior military posts to several foreign Islamist fighters, including an Albanian from North Macedonia. This has raised fears in the fighters' home countries of a possible export of the revolution to their soil.
In addition to the Albanian originally from North Macedonia, Reuters and AFP, citing sources inside Syria, have reported that a citizen of Tajikistan and three Chinese Uyghurs are among the foreigners who have been promoted to official positions.
They have been given the rank of brigadier general and at least one of them has been promoted to colonel, according to reports that Radio Free Europe could not independently verify.
Abdul Samrez Jashari, born in North Macedonia - also known as Abu Qatada al-Albani - wrote on a Facebook profile believed to be behind him that he received the rank of colonel.
Jashari, 48, is the leader of the "Albani Congregation", which is a militant group composed mainly of ethnic Albanians.
This group has an alliance with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – the Islamist group declared a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union – that overthrew Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
Abdul Jashari has been sanctioned by the US since 2016. According to the Treasury decision, this military adviser has been sanctioned as one of the leaders of Al-Nusra, Al-Qaeda's branch in Syria, and has helped raise funds for the families of Nusra fighters.
Who is the Alban Congregation led by Jashari?
Adrian Shtuni, an expert on foreign policy and security operating in Washington and an associate of the International Center for Counter-Terrorism, in The Hague, has previously told Radio Free Europe that the Alban Congregation has been active in Syria since 2012, although not officially. with this name.
"But its components, the people who formed this group later used this as a name," he said.
According to him, this group is made up of dozens of people, has an ethnic Albanian command structure and is about "a jihadist and well-structured Islamist group".
"The people who are members of this group come mainly from Kosovo, from North Macedonia, but also from other Albanian territories in the Balkans, and from the diaspora," Shtuni said.
"The leader of the Albanian group there is a 48-year-old man from Skopje known as Abu Qatade al-Albani. His real name is Abdul Jashari and he had high advisory functions with the commander of HTS", he added.
Radio Free Europe has verified a video from November 30, 2024, which showed an Albanian-speaking soldier standing on a fort in the city of Aleppo. The video was shot on the day HTS took control of the northwestern city.
The same soldier was wearing an "Albanian Tactical" insignia, which is believed to be a training-focused subgroup of the Albanian Congregation.
"The Alban congregation is divided into several groups which are specialized: one for mine throwing, the other is a group of snipers and then we also have this training group which is called Albanian Tactical", declared Shtuni.
According to him, the group of Albanians and its leadership have a special importance within HTS.
Another foreign fighter named colonel was identified by Tajik bloggers close to HTS forces as Saifiddin Tojiboev, a fighter from Tajikistan.
REL has not been able to verify the authenticity of the reports regarding the alleged appointment of Tojiboev as commander of operations and his promotion from major to colonel.
A source from the security sector in Tajikistan told REL that the Government of this country is aware of the news regarding Tojiboev's new appointment.
Tojiboev, 41, is a wanted man in Tajikistan and is accused of taking part in a foreign conflict, being a member of a terrorist organization and recruiting fighters for terrorist groups. He is also on the Tajik Central Bank's sanctions list, where he is prohibited from carrying out financial activities.
"Tojiboev and his brother went to Syria in 2013 and since then have participated in military conflicts there," the source in Dushanbe told REL. "Tojiboev has also recruited some Tajik citizens to join terrorist organizations."
Tojiboev was a member of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), a once popular movement in Dushanbe, which in 2015 was banned and declared terrorist. This party has denied the accusations of terrorism.
HTS has not yet officially made any public statement regarding the appointment of foreign fighters.
This Islamic group has pledged to apply moderate policies regarding women's rights, is committed to national reconciliation and relations with the international community. Also, HTS is trying to create a professional army including people from various militant factions that are allied with it.
HTS includes a large number of fighters from Russia, Central Asia and the Balkans. Most of them went to Syria after the extremist group, Islamic State (IS) announced the establishment of a caliphate in parts of Syria and Iraq in 2014.
Concerns in countries of origin
In their countries of origin, many of these fighters are seen as potential threats to national stability and security.
Adrian Shtuni from the International Center Against Terrorism at the end of 2024 told Radio Free Europe that he does not believe that the interests of Albanian fighters to return to their countries can increase now, even after the fall of the Assad regime.
"I am not sure that they would like to return, as these people are focused, have a jihadist background, have risked their lives for their ideological goals, which they have not hidden," he declared, adding that some of them may have ambitions for positions in the new government in Syria.
Meanwhile, in December 2024, when videos showing Tajik militants in Syria circulated on social media, a source close to Tajikistan's security forces, who wished to remain anonymous, said Dushanbe was getting nervous about the participation of its own nationals. in foreign wars.
"They may one day return to Tajikistan and try to cause serious trouble," the source said.
In recent years, governments in Central Asia have repatriated hundreds of their nationals - family members of IS fighters - from Iraq to Syria, helping them reintegrate into "civilian life".
Among the countries that have repatriated citizens are Kosovo and Albania.
According to experts, there are still thousands of foreign fighters in Syria. Albanians are believed to make up only a small proportion of the foreign fighters. HTS itself and allied groups are believed to have around 10,000 fighters in total.
Earlier it was said that around 100 Kosovars continue to remain in the territory of Syria and Iraq.
Governments are concerned about the possibility that fighters may try to bring HTS ideology or the Islamic revolution to their home countries.
Aaron Zelin, who is the author of a book on HTS - titled The Age of Political Jihadism: A Study Of Hayat Tahrir al - told Radio Free Europe that the appointments do not suggest that Syria's new rulers, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, have any agenda beyond Syria.
"This is an attempt by Golan and HTS to make sure that these people follow orders from the Syrian state and now they cannot act independently now that the war has ended, or is about to end," said Zelin, of who is a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Who is HTS?
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is a militant Islamist group whose members are mainly Salafists, an ultra-radical sect of Sunni Islam. This group seeks the establishment of a state in Syria governed by Islamic law.
The group appeared on the scene in 2012, a year after the start of the Syrian civil war. Initially, the group appeared under the name Jabhat al-Nusra, or the Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda.
Led by Muhammad al-Julani, the group took orders from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Baghdadi then severed ties with al-Qaeda and founded the extremist group, the Islamic State (IS), a group that Julani refused to join.
The Nusra Front has become one of the deadliest groups fighting Assad and uses tactics such as suicide bombings and improvised explosive devices.
The militant group subsequently changed its name several times and distanced itself from al-Qaeda. In 2017, it joined with other opposition groups in northwestern Syria to form HTS.
This group is declared a terrorist organization by the United States and allied groups.
He said Sharaa is considering granting Syrian citizenship to foreigners who have lived in the country for a certain period of time and supported HTS in the fight against the Assad regime.
"Golani is trying to make them Syrians. It is better for them to integrate and follow the new role of HTS than to act independently, or at least that's how they see it," said Zelin./ REL (A2 Televizion)
A2 CNN Livestream
MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
