Conflicting reports on fate of Chinese Uighur fighters in Syria

AFP, citing a source it described as a "Syrian diplomat," reported that the Syrian interim government intends to hand over approximately 400 Uighur fighters to China in the coming period. The source indicated that the issue of the Uighur fighters would be discussed during al-Shaibani's visit to Beijing, and that the handover process according to the source "will take place in batches at the request of China."

For its part, the Syrian interim government's foreign ministry quickly denied the accuracy of this information, stating in a statement that "there is no truth to what AFP reported regarding the Syrian government's intention to hand over any fighters," without providing any further details.

Despite official denials, the conflicting statements have raised concerns among Chinese Uighur fighters in Syria, especially after a report by the German broadcaster DW, which confirmed that "the issue of Uighur jihadists will be on the table during al-Shaibani's visit."

The German agency's report indicated that al-Shaibani pledged to Beijing that "his country will not allow any activity that harms Chinese national security," while promising his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, to contribute to the reconstruction of Syria, during a meeting between the two in the Chinese capital.

It is worth noting that China abstained from voting on the draft resolution submitted to the Security Council at the beginning of November to remove the names of the head of the Syrian interim government, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and his Interior Minister, Anas Khattab, from the international sanctions list.

ANHA