Syrian forces detain Uzbek fighters after protests erupt in Idlib

Syrian security forces have detained several Uzbek fighters during a security operation in northwestern Syria after protests broke out outside a government security facility in Idlib province, according to two Syrian security officials.

The unrest began after authorities attempted to arrest an Uzbek fighter accused of opening fire in Idlib city, Caliber.Az reports per British media.

The move sparked demonstrations by armed Uzbek militants demanding his release, officials and local residents said.

Security forces later launched raids across several areas of the Idlib countryside, including the towns of Kafriya and al-Foua, targeting Uzbek fighters allegedly involved in the protests.

Military convoys and reinforcements were deployed around the two towns, while sporadic gunfire was reported in the area. The number of fighters detained was not immediately clear.

The Syrian Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The incident highlights the challenge facing Syria’s Islamist-led government as it seeks to tighten state control over foreign militants who entered the country during the civil war that erupted in 2011.

Many of the foreign fighters had fought alongside the jihadist faction once led by Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa, who severed ties with al Qaeda in 2016.

According to a Syrian security source cited by Reuters last year, around 1,500 Uzbek fighters remain in Syria, some accompanied by their families.

The confrontation is the second involving foreign militants in Idlib in recent months, following tensions last October around a camp near the Turkish border linked to French jihadist Omar Diaby.

Damascus has increasingly sought to regularise the status of foreign fighters by incorporating thousands into the country’s newly formed armed forces.

Some foreign nationals have also been appointed to senior positions within the state structure, including a Jordanian commander overseeing the Republican Guard and an Australian official leading Syria’s newly established sovereign fund.

Reuters reported previously that the United States had backed a Syrian proposal to integrate roughly 3,500 foreign fighters — mainly Uyghurs from China and neighbouring states — into a new military division, arguing that placing them under state authority would be preferable to leaving them outside formal institutions.

Sharaa has strengthened ties with Washington over the past year, while Damascus joined a U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State in November.

By Aghakazim Guliyev