According to a Reuters investigation, former loyalists of the ousted Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad are distributing millions of dollars to tens of thousands of potential fighters in an effort to launch uprisings against the fledgling government.
The plot, which was revealed through Reuters news agency’s Reuters news agency’s interviews with 48 people and financial records, comes as Syria approaches one year since al-Assad’s fall and as the new government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa gains international support.
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At a crucial moment in the country’s fragile transition, the schemes are likely to stoke new sectarian violence.
Major-General Kamal Hassan, his former head of military intelligence, and Rami Makhlouf, his billionaire cousin, are now vying for refuge in Moscow to establish militias among Syria’s Alawite minority, a sect that has long been associated with the fallen dynasty, according to the Reuters findings.
In an effort to woo their loyalty, they are funding more than 50 000 fighters together with other factions.
According to people close to him who were interviewed by Reuters, Hassan, who oversaw the regime’s infamous military detention system, has been making constant calls and sending voice messages to commanders from his Moscow villa.
He reportedly groans about his diminished influence and lays out grandiose plans for controlling coastal Syria, where the majority of al-Assad’s former power base and Alawite residents live.
“Be patient, my people, and keep your arms at a distance.” In a WhatsApp message that Reuters reviewed, Hassan stated that he would restore your dignity.
According to the investigation, Makhlouf, who once used his business empire to finance the dictatorship during the ruinous 14-year civil war before falling out with his more powerful relatives and spending years under house arrest, now speaks in conversations as a messianic figure who will bring about the end of the world.
The men’s prize, according to Reuters, is control of a network of 14 underground command rooms built around coastal Syria at the end of al-Assad’s rule as well as weapons storage facilities.
Photos captured by the news agency show rooms filled with computers, computers, and other types of communication equipment, including assault rifles, ammunition, grenades, and ammunition.
According to internal documents and financial records that Reuters reviewed, Hassan claims control of 12, 000 fighters and has spent at least $1.5 million since March, while Makhlouf claims at least 54, 000 fighters and has spent at least $ 6 million on salaries.
However, the fighters are being paid a pittance, with some commanders on the ground claiming they are taking money from both sides and are making between $20 and $30 per month.
Despite the plotting, there are fewer chances for an uprising to succeed.
According to Reuters, many Alawite mistrust the pair because they are virulently at odds with one another, Russia has withheld support, and many are.
Moscow, which granted al-Assad asylum, has since changed its mind to support al-Sharaa’s government in order to maintain its vital Mediterranean military installations on Syria’s coast in Tartous, which the plotters want to control.
Khaled al-Ahmad, an Alawite and former al-Sharaa friend, is the Syrian new government’s counter-strategy, who used its own strategy during the war.
His job is to convince former soldiers and civilians that the new Syria has a better future.
The coastal Tartous region’s governor, Ahmed al-Shami, told Reuters that Syrian authorities are aware of the plots and prepared to fight them.
Given that they lack powerful tools on the ground, “we are certain they cannot do anything effective,” he said.
Syria faces a number of challenges a year after al-Assad’s overthrow, including the country’s ongoing need for a buffer for Israel, and sectarian tensions that erupted into deadly violence in March and July.
Source: Aljazeera
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