Syrian authorities struggle with foreign jihadists

By Madjid Zerrouky (Damascus (Syria), special correspondent)

French nationals besieged by Syria's new security forces, forced to take shelter with women and children in a camp leaning against the Turkish border; exchanges of gunfire; hours of negotiations and a deceptive ceasefire. A bloodbath was narrowly avoided when, after 36 hours of crisis, authorities in Damascus and French jihadists led by Omar Omsen (real name Diaby), a 50-year-old preacher from Nice, reached an agreement on Thursday, October 23, to end fighting near the town of Harem, where he had set up his base, according to security chiefs in Idlib province, in the country's northwest.

The paramilitary police surrounded the camp of French jihadists on the night of October 21 to 22, intending to arrest Omsen. He was officially accused of kidnapping and detaining a young French girl, following a complaint filed by her mother with a regional Islamic court. This was the first time since coming to power in December 2024 that the country's new rulers, led by former jihadist Ahmad al-Sharaa, had openly engaged in armed conflict with foreign fighters and former comrades-in-arms.

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