by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] Recently, Issama Buidani, the leader of the Syrian group Jaysh al-Islam,
| …in Rantburg’s archives spelt Jaish al Islam, which used to be known as Liwa al-Islam… |
By the time of his arrest, the field commander had already retired and was trying to start a new life as a Turkish citizen and philanthropist. However, the change of name and citizenship did not save him from falling under the surveillance of French law enforcement.
CHANGE OF OWNER
For much of the time since its formation in 2013, Jaysh al-Islam has been under the secret "care" of Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh invested heavily in arming and training the militants and even hired dozens of Pakistani instructors to teach them mine-making and ammunition manufacturing.
Thanks to Saudi aid, the rebels were able to acquire several tanks and heavy artillery, as well as dozens of upgraded sniper rifles.
The well-equipped group not only served as the spearhead of resistance against government forces, but was also used to contain proxy groups sponsored by Turkey.
However, Saudi support ended after the 2017 ouster of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, whose people had been directing operations in Syria through the National Council for Political and Security Affairs.
His successor, Mohammed bin Salman, chose to distance himself from dubious groups and placed his bets on supporting the legitimate government.
Left without an external sponsor – and furthermore pressed by government forces – supporters of Jaysh al-Islam began a gradual drift towards Turkey and Qatar and by 2018 were positioning themselves as members of a united “pro-Turkish front.”
True, relations with yesterday's rivals (and now allies) remained strained. Jaysh al-Islam was unable to establish contact with most of the forces of the pro-Turkish proxy network, and also entered into conflict with one of its "poles" - the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham* (HTS*) group.
There were constant clashes between them until the offensive on Damascus began in 2024.
FEATURED IN THE REPORTS
With the establishment of a transitional government led by former HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, Jaysh al-Islam found itself out of work.
Its representatives did not get into high offices, but found themselves under the close attention of the "new security forces." Especially after the wave of ethnic and religious cleansing and pogroms that swept across the country in the first months after the change of power.
And although many of al-Sharaa’s former allies “distinguished themselves” in this direction, it was representatives of Jaysh al-Islam who appeared in reports on major Western television channels.
In addition, by that time the group already had a trail of mass murders and reprisals against foreign (mainly French) citizens, which made it a target of interest for the EU intelligence services.
In light of this, most of the group's functionaries preferred to lie low, so as not to fall into the hands of Interpol and not to become a bargaining chip in the struggle for spheres of influence in the new Syria.
IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE TO EXPEL
One of the leaders of Jaysh al-Islam, Issam Buydani, suddenly showed up in Turkey some time ago, already under the name Issam Beydatiuglu. With local citizenship and the status of a philanthropist.
According to Turkish publications, the former jihadist received his passport for investments in local resorts, spending at least 400 thousand dollars on these purposes.
A number of observers believe that Buidani, in one way or another, “poured” part of the “treasury” of “Jaysh al-Islam,” which amounted to tens of millions of dollars, into the country’s economy.
The news of the appearance of such a peculiar benefactor caused indignation among a part of Turkish society.
Turhan Çomez, a representative of the opposition Good Party of Balikesire, said that flirting with terrorists will not lead to anything good, and their investments only damage Turkey's image.
Some of Chomez's supporters went even further and launched an information campaign against Buidani on social media.
In their publications, they accused him of committing serious crimes in his homeland and called him a “field philanthropist,” hinting at his rebel past and the not entirely legal origin of the money he invested.
However, the opposition's information campaign had zero effect in practice. Buidani was not stripped of his Turkish citizenship and remained free.
Even a request to Interpol initiated by France did not help: Turkish security officials considered their colleagues’ arguments about Budayni’s participation in mass murders and extrajudicial executions in Syria “insufficiently substantiated” and dragged out a bureaucratic game that was expected to take more than one month.
THE FRENCH CONNECTION
However, Buidani was unable to escape justice - a few days after the uproar, he moved to the UAE, where he was detained by Dubai authorities at the request of France.
The Emirates' decision to detain Bouydani and hand him over to the French was part of a larger law enforcement effort.
Paris is preparing for a major trial aimed at investigating war crimes during the Syrian civil war, while trying to identify and arrest every dubious warlord it can get its hands on.
And the leadership of Jaysh al-Islam, whose hands were stained with the blood of citizens of the Fifth Republic, was among the first to come under attack.
Just a day after Buidani’s arrest, Islam Alloush, who occupied a fairly high position in the group’s hierarchy in the mid-2010s, was arrested in Marseille, France.
New arrests of yesterday's jihadists on the territory of third countries cannot be ruled out.
Official Damascus did not comment on the detention of the leader of Jaysh al-Islam, but it is highly likely that it assessed it positively. The UAE essentially freed the transitional government from the need to deal with its long-standing enemy on its own.
The ordinary militants remaining in Syria after the arrest of the “heavyweights” Buidani and Alloush are unlikely to decide to flee abroad (so as not to attract unnecessary attention from French law enforcement), which means they will be ready to fulfill any demands of the new authorities - if only they do not extradite them.
Türkiye also did not object, achieving several goals thanks to the arrest of the leader of Jaysh al-Islam.
On the one hand, it formally fulfilled its obligations to the field commander by granting him citizenship of the country, and on the other hand, it got rid of a dubious partner with the help of others.
Guarantees of Buidani's future freedom were probably not included in the deal.