US Greenlights Integration of Foreign Jihadists Into Syria’s Army

The United States has conditionally approved Syria’s plan to integrate approximately 3,500 foreign jihadists—primarily Uyghur fighters from China—into a newly formed 84th division of the Syrian army.

Trump’s special envoy, Thomas Barrack, argued that incorporating these loyal but formerly rebel fighters into state forces poses less security risk than leaving them unaffiliated and potentially turning to extremist groups.

This policy shift follows President Trump’s Middle East visits, the lifting of certain Assad-era sanctions, and meetings with Syria’s interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Once, Washington demanded the full exclusion of foreign fighters, but now it accepts their inclusion as part of Syria’s post-civil-war security framework.