Syrian security forces under the government of President Ahmad al-Sharaa launched a large-scale operation late Tuesday against members of a French jihadist group based in a refugee camp near the Turkish border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The Observatory reported that the operation targeted al-Ghurabaa, or “the Strangers,” a French-led jihadist organization headed by Omar Omsen, a French national of Senegalese descent who is wanted in France. The United States designated Omsen as a global terrorist in 2016. French officials have previously estimated his group has about 50 members.
The operation took place in the city of Harem, in Syria’s northwestern Idlib Province. The Syrian government said its forces sought to capture Omsen and end his influence in the camp while ensuring the safety of women and children and preventing the fighting from spreading further north.
According to the statement, Omsen is accused of kidnapping and has refused to surrender. Sources within the French jihadist group said the regime’s broader goal is to dismantle the organization and extradite its leaders to France.
The Observatory said the raid followed what authorities described as “security threats” emerging from within the camp. Several people were reported killed or wounded on both sides, and regime forces arrested two French jihadists. The operation included widespread searches for migrants throughout Idlib, the group added.
Al-Sharaa, who took power after rebel forces won the country’s civil war last year, has pledged to France that his government will eliminate the presence of French jihadists in Syria, the Observatory said. His pledge came amid signs of growing rapprochement between Damascus and Paris.
The French jihadists issued a statement accusing al-Sharaa’s government of carrying out a plan to “eliminate foreign migrants” in coordination with the United States and the international coalition, including France.
In an audio recording released after the clashes, Omsen said al-Sharaa’s security forces had announced plans to attack “the camp where we live with our families and children” and accused French intelligence services of orchestrating the assault. He said he previously survived an assassination attempt and denied his group’s alleged ties to the Islamic State.
Thousands of foreign fighters entered Syria after the country’s civil war began in 2011. Since taking office, al-Sharaa has sought to distance himself from his own jihadist background and consolidate his rule over the fractured nation.