Syria's President Ahmad Al Shara has distanced himself from one of his four brothers after a public outcry over the sibling's involvement with a tribal figure who supported the previous Assad regime.
The episode illustrates the limits to Mr Al Shara's policy of accommodating elements of the former regime in his efforts to consolidate control of Syria since his rebel allies made him President on January 31. This month, Mr Al Shara's ruling Hayat Tahrir Al Sham group overcame a rival militia leader in southern Syria, helped by an alliance with a warlord who was loyal to former president Bashar Al Assad.
A statement by the presidency late on Sunday admitted a “controversy” had arisen after Jamal Al Shara, an elder brother of Mr Al Shara, last week visited Farhan Al Marsoumy in Damascus. During the civil war, Mr Al Marsoumy built a fief in his home region of Albu Kamal with the help of the former regime and Iran.
Albu Kamal is near the Iraqi border in eastern Syria, an area that was crucial for Iranian-supplied weapons, smuggled through Iraq and Syria, to the Lebanese Shiite guerrilla group Hezbollah.
Although the influence of Iran has all but ended in Syria, many of its former allies, such as Mr Marsoumy, have survived, either because they have sought accommodation with the new regime through deals in which they have surrendered assets, or because the authorities have found them politically useful.
“Mr Jamal Al Shara does not occupy any position in the institutions of the state and does not have any official privileges,” the presidency's statement said. The visit was made in a “personal capacity”, it added.
Culture Minister Mohammad Saleh, who is also from the east, accompanied Jamal Al Shara on the trip. The two men were filmed being given an abaya, or Bedouin gown, and wearing it. They also ate from a huge tray of mansaf, a traditional meal of rice and lamb in a yoghurt sauce.
In an attempt to explain the footage of the encounter, Mr Saleh said that “every day I am asked for hundreds of photos” with people he does not know. “I want to apologise to the great Syrian people for any unintended photo with anyone belonging to the bygone regime.”
The two men came in for widespread criticism, particularly on social media, even from people supportive of the new President. Firas Andeen, a human rights lawyer, said “floating the symbols and criminals of the former regime is shameful”.
Muhannad Al Katee, a Syrian researcher who specialises in the east of the country, said Mr Saleh “should resign today and not tomorrow”. He said the visit was motivated by “errors that cannot be justified”.
Little is known about Jamal Al Shara except that he previously worked in the IT education sector and left for Egypt around 2013. This month, the President appointed Maher Al Shara, another brother, as Secretary General of the Presidency, a position similar to chief of staff. The President, who was born in 1982, has four brothers, all of whom are his elders.
An offensive led by Ahmad Al Shara and HTS, a group formerly linked with al Qaeda, ended 54 years of Al Assad family rule over Syria in December. The Al Assads belong to the country's Alawite minority but their dominance was partly underpinned by alliances with Sunni tribes.
