Al-Monitor: US believes Syria’s Sharaa at risk of assassination, Trump envoy says
President Donald Trump’s point person for Syria says the administration is concerned that Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa’s efforts to promote inclusive governance and engage with the West could make him a target for assassination by disaffected militants. “We need to coordinate a protection system around [Sharaa],” Ambassador Tom Barrack told Al-Monitor in an interview. Barrack highlighted the threat posed by splinter factions of the foreign fighters who joined Sharaa in the lightning 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 the Islamic State (ISIS).
