BEIRUT // A plan to evacuate thousands of extremist fighters and civilians from Damascus on Saturday has stalled after a powerful Syrian rebel leader was killed in a Russian air strike a day earlier.
The leader of Jaysh Al Islam, Zahran Alloush, 44, was killed along with other senior commanders when missiles struck their meeting on Friday. Rebels said the strike was carried out by Russia jets. Syria later said it was carried out by its own air force, but it is not thought to have the capability for precision strikes.
Jaysh Al Islam, a hardline Sunni rebel group, controls the suburbs east of Damascus in an area called Eastern Ghouta. With between 15,000 and 20,000 fighters, according to western intelligence officials, they are the strongest rebel faction near the capital and have been seen as one of the most powerful rebel groups in the entire country.
The killing of Alloush seems to have complicated a UN-brokered deal reached with the Syrian government to allow about 4,000 civilians and fighters belonging ISIL and Jabhat Al Nusra from southern areas of Damascus to travel to rebel-held areas in northern Syria.
The buses to transport them from the besieged Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp and neighbouring districts had already arrived in Yarmouk on Thursday, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human rights said.
A security source close to the negotiation said Jaysh Al Islam was to provide safe passage for the buses passing through Eastern Ghouta en route to Raqqa, ISIL’s de facto capital in Syria. The transfer was said to have been scheduled for Saturday but, with the confusion created by Alloush’s death, the plan has stalled.
Beyond its impact on the Yarmouk deal, Alloush’s death comes at a crucial moment in the war as the Syrian government and rebels prepare for talks under an international peace plan for Syria. The UN envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said on Saturday that it aimed to start the talks on January 25 in Geneva.
The deal to let rebels and civilians leave southern Damascus was the latest in a series of recent government truces with opposition fighters, but more significant in that it involved negotiations between the government and ISIL. These deals show an increased willingness by both sides to abandon stagnant front lines after nearly five years of war and a greater openness to negotiation. This could be affected by a collapse of the Yarmouk deal, combined with Alloush’s death.
While Alloush was regarded by other rebels as a strong leader and hailed for his proficiency in fighting Syrian government forces so close to Damascus, he was also highly controversial. He had at times called for Alawites and Shiites to be cleansed from parts of Syria. As a highly sectarian Sunni, Alloush often used pejoratives to describe Shiites and Alawites. In November, Jaysh Al Islam paraded captured Alawite civilians and soldiers through Eastern Ghouta in cages.
Jaysh Al Islam has also been criticised for kidnapping opposition activists and shelling Damascus.
Alloush has fought against ISIL but co-operated with Jabhat Al Nusra, Al Qaeda’s Syrian branch.
The extremist tendencies of Jaysh Al Islam have presented a challenge to the broader Syrian opposition as it gears up for peace talks.
The group took part in a Syrian opposition meeting in Riyadh earlier this month that was intended to determine who would represent the rebels in negotiations with the Syrian government. The outlines for the peace negotiations specify that no group considered terrorists would be allowed take part. The opposition has already barred ISIL and Jabhat Al Nusra from participating in their discussions, but Syria and Russia are unlikely to accept the presence or influence of groups like Jaysh Al Islam either.
But by holding tracts of territory close to Damascus, Jaysh Al Islam gives the opposition leverage that could be useful in gaining concessions from the government. On paper, the group has done much more in the war than many of the more moderate opposition groups. The backing of Saudi Arabia, which has helped Syrian rebel groups prepare for the peace talks, adds to the pressure to include Jaysh Al Islam in any negotiations.
While some Syrian opposition members disputed Alloush’s right to be included, many are likely to see his killing as an attempt by the Syrian government and Russia to weaken rebel ranks ahead of negotiations and to influence who they will be represented by. If his death weakens Jaysh Al Islam, government forces could advance in Eastern Ghouta and remove an important opposition bargaining chip in the peace talks.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
* with agencies
