Uzbek Fighters in Kefriya and Al-Fu'ah Reject Syrian Defense Ministry

Security tensions have intensified in the towns of Kefriya and Al-Fu’ah in northern Idlib Governorate after the killing of a non-Syrian national and a wave of arrests targeting foreign fighters, according to local Syrian sources.

Arrests and security alert in Kefriya and Al-Fu’ah

Syrian internal security forces have launched an arrest campaign in Kefriya and Al-Fu’ah, detaining several individuals holding foreign nationalities—including Uzbek nationals—prompting a heightened state of security alert in both towns, local sources in Idlib confirmed.

The arrests followed the death of a non-Syrian individual in the area. Authorities also detained others accused of affiliation with the Islamic State organization, the local sources told RT.

Ongoing resistance to integration with Syrian state forces

An undeclared conflict persists between the Syrian government and foreign fighters who previously fought alongside current Ministry of Defense personnel during the Syrian revolution. These fighters continue to reject formal integration into the Ministry of Defense’s military formations.

Those among them who had previously joined the Ministry’s ranks have repeatedly threatened to withdraw from its units whenever security incidents flare up sporadically across the region.

Uzbek fighters’ public rejection of integration

Tensions surrounding Uzbek fighters in Syria have sharpened recently. These fighters operate outside the formal command structures of Syrian government-aligned military formations and—alongside foreign fighters of other nationalities—refuse to join the Ministry of Defense, insisting instead on maintaining independent armed groups with autonomous agendas.

In a statement issued on 6 June, the Uzbek fighters’ coalition in Syria declared its full rejection of integration into the Ministry of Defense and warned it would withdraw any of its members who had previously enlisted in its formations.

Presence since 2018 under the “Four Cities” agreement

Foreign fighters have been present in Kefriya and Al-Fu’ah since July 2018, following the evacuation and forced displacement of the towns’ original inhabitants—most of whom belong to Syria’s Shia minority—under the terms of the “Four Cities” agreement.

Since then, foreign fighters from Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Uyghur community—locally referred to as “the strangers”—have settled in the two towns and taken control of homes and land there.