Fighting erupted once again in northern Syria on Wednesday as government forces loyal to President Ahmad al-Sharra surrounded a camp of foreign jihadists near the Turkish border. The confrontation marks one of the most serious clashes between Damascus and its former Islamist allies since al-Sharra came to power last December.
The camp, located in the Harem region of Idlib Province, was encircled after the reported kidnapping of a local girl by a foreign militant commander. In response, Syrian government troops surrounded the area and demanded that the group, led by 50-year-old Omar Omsen—a French national wanted in France for terrorism charges—surrender immediately. The fighters refused, prompting a siege that continued through the night.
According to local reports, the camp houses approximately 50 foreign fighters, most of them French, Central Asian, and Chechen nationals who were once affiliated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the former al-Qaeda-linked group that al-Sharra himself led during the civil war and which governed much of Idlib for years. At least ten militants are believed to have been killed in the initial clashes, with videos circulating on social media showing smoke rising from the besieged compound.
Since taking power late last year, al-Sharra’s government has been conducting quiet purges within the remnants of the former jihadi factions that helped him consolidate control after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. The new leadership in Damascus has sought to project a more moderate image, distancing itself from transnational jihadists while seeking legitimacy and reconstruction support from regional and Western governments.
The presence of hundreds of foreign fighters in northwestern Syria—particularly from Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Western Europe—has long alarmed neighboring states and Western intelligence services, who fear the area could again become a launching pad for international terrorism.
During a meeting in May between al-Sharra and U.S. President Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia, Arab media reported that Trump urged the Syrian leader to deal decisively with the foreign militant presence in his country. The current siege appears to be a signal that Damascus intends to heed that advice, bringing remaining foreign fighters under control—or eliminating them outright—as part of its broader campaign to normalize Syria’s image and attract much-needed investment and aid for reconstruction.