Newsletters
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has reportedly survived at least two assassination attempts since coming to power in December 2024, with U.S. officials expressing concern about threats from extremist groups opposed to his inclusive governance approach.
U.S. special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack told Al-Monitor that the administration is concerned that Sharaa's efforts to promote inclusive governance and engage with the West could make him a target.
"We need to coordinate a protection system around (Sharaa)," said Barrack, who also serves as U.S. ambassador to Türkiye.
According to diplomatic sources cited by French-language Lebanese daily newspaper L'Orient-Le Jour, the most recent assassination attempt occurred approximately two weeks ago, while the first took place in March.
The sources indicated these attempts were carried out by extremist groups, including the Daesh terrorist organization, who accuse the Syrian president of some ways and governing in ways contrary to their ideology.
"Daesh is trying to rally fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) who are hostile to the changes implemented by Sharaa," one diplomat told the Lebanese publication.
Barrack highlighted the threat posed by splinter factions of foreign fighters who joined Sharaa in the campaign that toppled former President Bashar al-Assad in early December.
As Syria's new leadership works to integrate these battle-tested fighters into its national army, they are being targeted for recruitment by groups like Daesh.
"The longer it takes to bring economic relief to Syria, the more fraction groups you're going to have that are going to say, 'This is our opportunity to disrupt,'" the U.S. envoy warned.
Barrack emphasized that protecting Sharaa would require close cooperation and intelligence sharing among US allies rather than military intervention.
"We need to deter any of those possible enemy assailants before they get there," he said.
The envoy, who has met with Sharaa twice, described the Syrian president as "bright," "confident" and "focused," downplaying skepticism about Sharaa's debated past.
"I'm certain that our interests and his interests are exactly the same today, which is to make a success like he did in Idlib of building an inclusive, functioning society that will be soft Islam, not hard Islam," Barrack said.
"I really give these guys a lot of credit for harnessing the resources that they have and keeping their composure at a time where everybody else's initiative is to try and institute fires that will be attributed to them," Barrack concluded.
1 min read
