ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Tensions erupted on Wednesday around a camp housing French foreign fighters in northeastern Syria’s Idlib province after masked gunmen shot and killed a commander of the group, a UK-based human rights observer told Rudaw.
A widespread state of alert has been declared inside the camp following the killing of the commander identified as “Abu Ayman,” director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) Rami Abdulrahman informed Rudaw’s Nushin Heme.
The “French Camp” is located in the northern Syrian city of Harem, less than two kilometers from the Turkish border and is organized by a group of foreign fighters who call themselves “Muhajirun,” also known as “Firqat al-Ghuraba” or “Brigade of Foreigners.”
Dakar-born French national, Omar Omsen - known also as Omar Diaby - is considered to be the group’s leader, recruiting extremists from France to Syria through online propaganda videos.
Abu Ayman was traveling in a car on Wednesday with several other people when masked gunmen opened fire on their vehicle on the road connecting the camp to the city of Harem, Abdulrahman said. The identity of the attackers and the motive behind the operation have not been officially confirmed.
Meanwhile, Syrian state broadcaster Al-Ikhbariya cited the Internal Security Command in Idlib Governorate saying that "An Internal Security Forces patrol spotted an armed group leaving the French camp towards the Harem area in the Idlib countryside, in violation of the agreement not to leave the camp with weapons," outlining that "As the patrol moved to pursue and stop the group, its members opened fire on the security force, prompting a response to the sources of fire."
"The incident resulted in the death of one member of the armed group and the injury of a civilian," al Ikhbariya reported.
In a separate testimony provided to SOHR on Wednesday, a French fighter living in the camp accused Syrian security authorities of orchestrating an ambush inside the city and confiscating surveillance cameras and recording devices to destroy evidence.
According to the fighter, residents had left the camp in two vehicles to purchase food before coming under fire near a gas station known as the “Turkistani Station” by a mosque at the entrance of Harem, where they passed a security checkpoint without stopping.
The fighter noted that children were standing on the side of the road during the shooting, though SOHR was unable to independently verify the fighter's testimony or confirm whether any civilian casualties occurred.
The Muhajirun group condemned the authorities in a statement published on Thursday, saying that "For three months now, you have besieged us, imposing an embargo and stepping up surveillance. We have committed no act to justify such hostility."
In the statement, the jihadists accused the local administration of acting on “directives dictated by France” to neutralize them, failing to honor a reciprocal ceasefire agreement reached on October 22, 2025.
"You [Syrian internal security forces] have threatened local shopkeepers and suppliers, banning them from selling or delivering food and building materials to us," the statement added.
The group said they face a “standing order” for any “French Muhajir the moment they step outside the camp,” and stated it had previously taken “measures to avoid direct confrontation and prevent escalations.” Syrian state media noted that the agreement specifies leaving the camp "with weapons."
The Harem camp is surrounded by a fortified wall and is equipped with surveillance cameras, housing approximately 100 foreign fighters alongside 25 women, 25 teenagers, and 75 children, according to Abdulrahman.
Relations between the camp's residents and local security authorities previously deteriorated in October 2025 when clashes broke out after an 11-year-old French-Muslim girl named Maymouna Ferstay was kidnapped for ransom by French fighters.
At the time, the Syrian Ministry of Interior posted a statement on X from Commander of Internal Security in Idlib province Ghassan Bakir responding to complaints from residents of the al-Fardan camp regarding grave violations, the latest of which was "the kidnapping of a girl from her mother by an outlaw armed group led by the so-called Omar Diaby."
Bakir stated in October 2025 that security forces completely surrounded the camp, established observation points, and attempted to negotiate a voluntary surrender with Diaby, who refused, barricaded himself inside, prevented civilians from leaving, and opened fire on security personnel.
Omsen was blacklisted by the United Nations Security Council Sanctions Committee in September 2014, as a leader of an armed group linked to al-Qaida and the al-Nusrah Front. The Committee described him as "a key facilitator for a Syrian foreign terrorist fighter network of foreign terrorist fighters travelling to Syria. Active in terrorist propaganda through the Internet."
The US State Department also designated Diaby as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), noting that he leads approximately 50 French foreign fighters alongside the Nusrah Front.
Diaby gained the attention of French intelligence after faking his death in August 2015 to travel to Turkey for an operation before re-emerging in May 2016.
"Diaby’s videos have been credited as the chief reason behind why so many French nationals have joined militant groups in Syria and Iraq," read the US State Department statement.
Different factions have been targeted as of late.
In a separate incident on Monday, an airstrike killed a prominent leader of Hurras al-Din, Abu Abdulrahman al-Libi, which the US State Department identifies as an “al-Qa’ida-affiliated jihadist group that emerged in Syria in early 2018 after several factions broke away from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).”
The Muhajirun stated on their Telegram channel that the leader “was killed at the hands of the Americans.”
The prominent leader of Hurras al-Din, Abu Abdulrahman al-Libi Photo: Muhajirun Telegram
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