United Nations sanctions monitors have seen no “active ties” this year between al-Qaeda and the Islamist group leading Syria’s interim government, an unpublished UN report said, a finding that could strengthen an expected US push for removing UN sanctions on Syria.
The report, seen by Reuters on Thursday, is likely to be published this month.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is al-Qaeda’s former branch in Syria but broke ties in 2016. The group, previously known as al-Nusra Front, led the rebellion that toppled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive in December, and HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa became Syria’s interim president.
The report comes as diplomats expect the United States to seek the removal of US sanctions on HTS and Sharaa, who has said he wants to build an inclusive Syria with equal rights for all.
“Many tactical-level individuals hold more extreme views than … Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Khattab, who are generally regarded as more pragmatic than ideological,” the UN report said. It covered the six months to June 22 and relied on contributions and assessments from UN member states.
Since May 2014, HTS has been subject to UN sanctions including a global assets freeze and arms embargo. A number of HTS members also face sanctions like a travel ban and asset freeze — including Sharaa, who has been listed since July 2013.
The UN monitors wrote in their report to the US Security Council: “Some member states raised concerns that several HTS and aligned members, especially those in tactical roles or integrated into the new Syrian army, remained ideologically tied to al-Qaeda.”
US President Donald Trump announced a major US policy shift in May when he said he would lift US sanctions on Syria. He signed an executive order enacting this at the end of June, and Washington revoked its foreign terrorist organization designation of HTS this week.
The US said then that revoking the designation was a step towards Trump’s vision of a peaceful and unified Syria.
Washington is “reviewing our remaining terrorist designations related to HTS and Syria and their placement on the UN sanctions list,” a US State Department spokesperson told Reuters.
Diplomats, humanitarian organizations and regional analysts have said lifting sanctions would help rebuild Syria’s shattered economy, steer the country away from authoritarianism and reduce the appeal of radical groups.
Trump and his advisers have argued that doing so would also serve US interests by opening opportunities for American businesses, countering Iranian and Russian influence and potentially limiting the call for US military involvement in the region.
Trump said this week that many countries, including Israel, had requested that Washington lift the sanctions on Syria, though reports to date have indicated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was caught off guard by the White House’s decision to end the sanctions.
Israel had been taking a much harder stance on Syria, with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Defense Minister Israel Katz initially branding Sharaa a “terrorist in a suit.�
Following Assad’s ouster, Israel also moved troops into the Syrian side of the two countries’ agreed-upon demilitarized buffer zone, and carried out massive strikes on military infrastructure there, citing fear they would fall into the wrong hands.
As the US policy on Syria continued to warm in recent weeks, Israel has abandoned its harsh rhetoric against Sharaa.
Last month, Sa’ar said Israel would like to normalize relations with Sharaa’s Syria, among others, and Israeli officials have confirmed holding direct talks with the regime. However, Syrian state media said this month that it was “premature” to discuss a peace deal with Israel.
Israel and Syria have been officially at war since 1948, when Israel was established.
Washington faces diplomatic obstacles to get the support of the UN Security Council to lift the sanctions on Syria. The US will also need to win support from Russia — which was an ally to Assad — and China for any Syria sanctions relief at the UN, diplomats said.
China and Russia are particularly concerned about foreigners who joined HTS during the 13-year war between rebel groups and Assad. The UN experts said there were estimated to be more than 5,000 foreign fighters in Syria.
The status of foreign fighters has been one of the most fraught issues hindering Syria’s rapprochement with the West. But the US has given its blessing to a plan by Syria’s new leaders to integrate foreign fighters into the army.
“China is gravely concerned about such developments. The Syrian interim authorities should earnestly fulfill their counter-terrorism obligations,” China’s UN Ambassador Fu Cong told the Security Council last month.
He said Syria must combat terrorist organizations including “the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, also known as the Turkistan Islamic Party.â€� Uyghur fighters from China and Central Asia are members of the Turkistan Islamic Party. Rights groups accuse Beijing of widespread abuses of the mainly Muslim ethnic minority.
Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the Security Council last month that it was essential Syria’s “army and police are staffed exclusively by professional personnel with untainted track records,” apparently referring to irregular fighters from various militias.
The UN monitors said some foreign fighters rejected the move to integrate them into the military. “Defections occurred among those who see Sharaa as a sell-out, raising the risk of internal conflict and making Sharaa a potential target,” the UN experts said.
Jacob Magid and Lazar Berman contributed to this report.