Wanted French militants form independent group in Syria’s Idlib
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – About 80 wanted foreign militants, mostly French, formed an independent group in Idlib Governorate in northwest Syria in a camp near the Turkish border.
A report by the Middle East Eye said Omar Omsen, a French-Senegalese militant wanted by French authorities, has succeeded in forming a French armed group under the name of Firqat al-Ghuraba (Foreigners’ Brigade) that used to fight with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front).
The HTS, rebranded in 2017, controls the city of Idlib and western Aleppo Governorate, under the guise of the Salvation Government.
Firqat al-Ghuraba is an active jihadist group aligned with al-Qaeda based in opposition-held areas in Idlib. The group mostly consists of foreign militants from Europe with many originating from France and Belgium.
According to the Paris-based Center for the Analysis of Terrorism (CAT), 80 adults live at the camp, 60 of them are French, with nearly a hundred children.
When the group first came to Idlib, they lived in makeshifts camps. Now they have an independent fenced camp with houses, a mosque, a school, even a football pitch, which the militants of the group refused to reveal how it is funded.
Recently, the French group has been at odds with the HTS, who controls most of Idlib and tries to include smaller armed groups under its command. They also imprisoned the French group’s leader, Omsen, for a year and a half on religious differences before releasing him.
The MEE report noted citing local sources that tension continues between both groups as Furqat al-Ghuraba published videos accusing HTS of abandoning “Jihad.”