Al-Julani Regime Orders Recruitment of Foreign Fighters for Its Army
A defense ministry official of the al-Jolani regime told Al Jazeera Qatar that a decision has been made to recruit foreign fighters into the syrian army. The unnamed official stated that military leadership issued the directive days ago to integrate foreign combatants into Syrian army ranks.
The move aims to “organize efforts within an official military framework,” according to the source. It comes one week after Syria’s ruling regime secured U.S. approval for this initiative.
thomas Barak, Donald Trump’s special envoy for Syria and U.S. ambassador to Turkey, told Reuters last week that Washington supports plans for “thousands of former rebel foreign fighters” to join Syria’s military, provided implementation remains transparent.
The U.S. conditioned its approval on Damascus ensuring clarity in absorbing approximately 3,500 foreign fighters-primarily China’s Uyghurs and nationals from neighboring countries-into a newly established “Division 84”, which will also include Syrian troops, three Syrian officials confirmed to Reuters.
The policy shift marks a stark reversal from Washington’s earlier demand (as recently as early May) for complete removal of foreign forces from Syria’s security apparatus. Analysts attribute this change partly to Trump’s Middle East visit, where he agreed to lift Assad-era sanctions on Syria, met with al-Jolani in Riyadh, and appointed Barak-a close ally-as special representative.
