Trump allows new Syrian govt to recruit foreign jihadists in military in turnaround after Middle East tour
US President Donald Trump has approved Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa's plan to recruit foreign jihadists into the country's reconstituted military, signalling a dramatic shift in American engagement with former Islamist rebels in Syria.
For over a decade, as Syria's civil war raged, thousands of jihadists from West Asia, Central Asia, and elsewhere poured into the country, joining various groups — many of them fighting the Assad regime. One such group is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led by Al-Sharaa, who previously fought with ISIS before joining HTS during its days as Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate.
Al-Sharaa formally announced HTS' split from Al-Qaeda in 2016, positioning the group as a political movement opposed to the Assad dynasty rather than a jihadist faction.
While until early May, the United States had been demanding the new leadership broadly exclude foreign fighters from the security forces, but Washington's approach to Syria has changed sharply since Trump toured the Middle East last month. Trump agreed to lift Assad-era sanctions on Syria, met Syria's interim President al-Sharaa in Riyadh and named Barrack, a close friend, as his special envoy.
On the top of this, despite scepticism in Western capitals about this rebranding, the Trump administration has now authorised the formal induction of foreign jihadists into Syria's armed forces.
Thomas Barrack, the US Special Envoy to Syria, told Reuters: 'I would say there is an understanding, with transparency.'
Barrack added that many of the jihadists are 'very loyal' to Al-Sharaa's government, and said incorporating them into state structures is preferable to risking their drift back to groups like Al-Qaeda or ISIS.
According to Syrian defence officials, around 3,500 foreign fighters — mostly Uyghurs from China and neighbouring states — are currently affiliated with HTS. These fighters are set to be inducted into a new military formation called the 84th Syrian Army Division, which will include both foreign and Syrian personnel.
Two sources close to Syria's defence ministry told Reuters that Al-Sharaa's inner circle believes formal integration of these fighters poses fewer long-term risks than abandoning them, which could push them back into extremist networks.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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