Uyghurs among foreign militants given ranks in Syrian military
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Abdulaziz Dawood Khudaberdi of Turkistan Islamic Party appointed brigadier general. Syria’s new rulers have inducted foreign Islamist fighters, including Uyghurs, a Jordanian and a Turk, into the country’s military in the aftermath of president Bashar al-Assad's ouster.
The new leadership under Abu Mohammed al Golani, chief of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a former Al Qaeda and Isis affiliate that led the rebellion against Mr Assad, last week unveiled an accord to dissolve the armed militias operating in the country and integrate them into the military.
Mr Golani, the de facto leader, has since tapped dozens of former militants, including foreigners, for high-ranking positions in the army. At least six of the nearly 50 military roles announced by the defence ministry have gone to foreigners, Reuters reported on Sunday.
The new regime said the appointments were aimed at modernising the military “in order to guarantee security and stability”, AFP reported. The decision to install Islamist fighters in senior military roles could alarm foreign governments as well as Syrian citizens fearful of the new regime’s intentions, particularly towards minority groups. The concerns remain despite the de facto government pledging not to export Islamic revolution and to rule with tolerance towards Syria's large minority groups.
The fighters named to military positions on Sunday included members of Mr Golani's HTS as well as former army officers who had joined the opposition in the early days of the civil war. The foreign fighters are either from the HTS or aligned with the rebel group, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor based in the UK.
