The United States has given the green light to the new Syrian leadership’s proposal to integrate thousands of foreign jihadists and former rebel fighters into the national army, provided that the process is transparent, according to the president’s special envoy, Donald Trump.
Three Syrian defense officials revealed that this initiative would enlist approximately 3,500 foreign fighters, primarily Uighurs from China and nearby regions, into a newly established unit known as the 84th Division, which will also comprise Syrian soldiers.
When asked by Reuters if Washington supports the inclusion of foreign fighters in the new Syrian army, Thomas Barak, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and Trump’s special envoy for Syria, stated, “I would say there is an agreement, transparently.”
Barak noted that these fighters, many of whom are “very loyal” to the new Syrian administration, would be better off participating in a state initiative rather than being sidelined.
The situation of foreigners who aligned with the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels during Syria’s 13-year civil war has been a contentious point in Damascus’s efforts to establish better relations with the West since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime last December. HTS was previously an offshoot of al-Qaeda. Until early May, the U.S. insisted that the new Syrian government omit foreign fighters from the security forces. However, Washington’s position on Syria underwent a significant shift following Trump’s recent Middle East visit, where he agreed to lift sanctions on Syria, met with interim President Ahmed al-Saraa in Riyadh, and appointed Barak—his close associate—as special envoy for Syria.
Two sources close to Syria’s defense ministry informed Reuters that Sharaa and his team were advocating to their Western counterparts that incorporating foreign former rebels into the army would present a lower security risk compared to abandoning them, which might drive them towards al-Qaeda or Islamic State.
Neither the State Department nor a Syrian government spokesperson responded to requests for comment.
Concerns from China
In the early stages of the civil war against Assad, thousands of foreign Sunni Muslims joined the rebels, who were supported by Iranian-backed Shiite militias. While some of these fighters established their own factions, others allied with groups like the Islamic State, which aimed to create a “caliphate” across Syrian and Iraqi territories before eventually being dismantled by U.S. and Iranian-backed forces.
HTS foreign fighters gained a reputation for being loyal, disciplined, and skilled, forming the backbone of the organization’s so-called “suicide units.” After 2016, they engaged in battles against the Islamic State and other al-Qaeda factions, as HTS sought to distance itself from the group founded by Osama bin Laden.
The Uighur militants from China and Central Asia are associated with the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), an organization labeled as terrorist by Beijing. A Syrian official and a foreign diplomat indicated that China intends to limit the group’s influence in Syria.
“China hopes that Syria will combat all forms of terrorism and extremist forces in line with the international community’s concerns,” stated a spokesperson from China’s Foreign Ministry.
Osman Bughra, a civilian official from TIP, responded in writing to Reuters, asserting that the group has been officially disbanded and integrated into the Syrian army. “It operates entirely under the orders of the defense ministry, adheres to national policy, and maintains no ties with external entities or organizations,” he elaborated.
Last December, the appointment of foreign jihadists and former HTS leaders to key military positions raised alarms among Western governments. Calls to halt these appointments and expel low-ranking foreign fighters intensified until Trump’s meeting with Sharaa. The latter suggested that foreign fighters and their families might be granted Syrian citizenship due to their role in the ousting of Assad.
Abbas Sharifa, an expert on jihadist organizations in Damascus, commented that the fighters being integrated into the army have proven their loyalty to Syria’s leadership and have been “ideologically filtered.” However, he added, “If we abandon them, they may fall victim to Islamic State or other extremist groups.”
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