Idlib: Security Tensions and Clashes Near the “French Camp” in Northern Syria

The Harim area in the Idlib countryside, northwestern Syria, witnessed escalating security tensions late Tuesday night into Wednesday following clashes between the General Security Directorate of the Syrian Interim Government and a group of foreign fighters known as the “Strangers Division,” led by the French-Senegalese Omar Omsin.

Local sources told news agencies that the General Security Directorate imposed a security cordon around the camp, which houses dozens of foreign families, mostly French, with strict measures preventing entry or exit from the area.

The sources added that the security operation came after receiving information about illegal activities attributed to the “Strangers Division” inside the camp, noting that reconnaissance drones flew over the area to monitor movements and observe the field situation.

Media reports quoted a security source saying the operation aims to carry out a specific mission related to the recovery of a girl whom Omar Omsin is accused of detaining, clarifying that the security forces are not targeting foreign fighters in general but seek to enforce order within the camp.

Meanwhile, local sources reported that members of the “Strangers Division” resisted the attacking forces using light weapons, resulting in intermittent clashes, with no confirmed reports of casualties.

The “Strangers Division” issued a statement through its social media channels accusing the local authorities in Idlib of being “subordinate to external parties” and threatening to respond to any attempt to storm the camp.

On their part, the Internal Security Directorate denied, in widely circulated statements on social media, the existence of any campaign against “foreign migrants,” affirming that most foreign families residing in Idlib live safely and that the ongoing security measures are limited to the vicinity of the camp where Omsin resides.

Omar Omsin (45 years old) is one of the most prominent French fighters in Syria and was previously listed by the U.S. State Department in 2016 as an international terrorist. He is believed to have recruited dozens of French-speaking fighters during the early years of the Syrian conflict.

Local authorities in Idlib and the Syrian Interim Government have not yet issued an official statement regarding the progress or outcomes of the operation.