Ahmed al-Sharaa headed an alliance of Islamist groups that overthrew the previous government in November.
According to the Washington Post, the militants who ousted Bashar Assad’s government and installed interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa now pose a threat to his political future.
The Washington Post reported that several militant groups, spearheaded by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), seized control of Damascus late last year. These groups included thousands of foreign fighters, some with links to extremist organizations such as Islamic State and other radical factions, who remain in Syria.
While al-Sharaa “seems intent on keeping” some of these fighters as he seeks Western backing, the “hard-line Sunni Muslim militants” are already creating problems for him, according to the WaPo. The outlet added that some of these militants were involved in massacres of Alawites along the Syrian coast in March, which local media reported resulted in at least 1,300 deaths, including 973 civilians. Since the change in power, Christian and Druze communities in Syria have also reportedly been subjected to violent sectarian attacks.
WaPo also noted that the most radical of the foreign Islamists are “turning their ire” on al-Sharaa because he has not implemented Sharia law and is accused of working with the US and Türkiye to target extremist groups in Syria.
Earlier in May, US President Donald Trump met with al-Sharaa and announced the lifting of sanctions, most of which were imposed during Assad’s rule. Al-Sharaa described Trump’s decision as “a historic and courageous decision, which alleviates the suffering of the people, contributes to their rebirth, and lays the foundations for stability in the region.”
Shortly after the Trump-Sharaa meeting, Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, a leading Salafi-jihadist ideologue, issued a fatwa declaring the new Syrian leader an “infidel.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Syria remains a hub of extremist activity and could become unstable at any moment. Last week, the top diplomat warned that the country has become “a playground for jihadist groups, including ISIS and others,” adding that it could be “weeks – not many months – away from potential collapse and a full-scale civil war.”
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