Rabat – Dismissing lingering concerns over his past as a ruthless rebel commander – former al-Qaeda fighter, and founder of the Jihadist al-Nusra front – the UN and US President Donald Trump removed Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa from the Specially Designated Global Terrorist list on Friday.
Al-Sharaa, also known as al-Julani acted as de-facto leader before Syria’s recent official elections after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December last year. By the end of January 2025, the former rebel leader was appointed as president.
The United Nations Security Council also removed Assad from a global sanctions list on Thursday.
The move comes before Trump is set to host al-Sahraa in the White House for talks on Monday, and is especially significant given al-Sharaa’s background.
Al-Sharaa joined Al-Qaeda in the early-2000s, directly fighting against US troops in Iraq and was detained in Abu Ghraib prison from 2006-2011.
He created the al-Nusra front with the support of al-Qaeda, but the two groups ultimately split in 2016.
By 2017, al-Nusra merged with rebel paramilitary group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — the leading rebel insurgency in the recent toppling of al-Assad.
Despite this troubled past, the West has openly embraced al-Shaara as a potential ally since he emerged as president of Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime.
In June, Trump removed a series of sanctions on Syria which were existent even before the outbreak of Syria’s civil war in 2011.
Likewise, the decision to remove the once notorious Jihadist fighter from the Designated Global Terrorist list is designed to open up Syria’s economy to foreign investors and political operators after years of US-imposed sanctions and diplomatic isolation.
The move is a win for al-Sharaa, who has sought to gain international legitimacy as part of his strategy to rebuild post-Assad Syria.
He has quite literally traded in the uniform of a jihadist soldier for a western-style suit and tie, signaling his determination to win Western support and sympathy as he strives to distance himself from his troubled Jihadist past.
However, with al-Sharaa’s Syria still facing daunting challenges of social, economic, and political inclusion on the domestic front, it remains to be seen whether his telling diplomatic gains will help to achieve some stability in a deeply fragmented and fragile country.
