President Ahmed al-Sharaa and his Damascus-based Transitional Government are attempting to consolidate various factions, organizations, and structures into a unified Syria as the world looks on.

Agreements such as the one between President al-Sharaa and Commander Mazloum Abdi of the Syrian Democratic Forces have offered a glimmer of hope that Syria may move beyond conflict and towards lasting stability and prosperity. However, several key appointments in Sharaa’s new governance structures, especially within the new Ministry of Defense, have caused alarm particularly among Syria’s minorities. 

The most controversial of these appointments is Abu Hatem al-Shaqra, a high-level commander in the Turkish-backed Islamist militant organization Ahrar al-Sharqiya, to head the 86th Division of the new Syrian Army. His area of responsibility now includes Raqqa, Deir-ez-Zor, and Hasakah, regions primarily under the control of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

Hevrin Khalaf, a prominent Kurdish politician from North-East Syria, who was killed by Ahrar al-Sharqiya

Al-Shaqra and his militia are notorious for well-documented abuses against minorities during Turkey’s military campaigns against the Syrian regions in the northeast of Afrin, Ras al-Ayn and Tan Abyad, where minorities had found sanctuary during the war. The militia became infamous when al-Shaqra was personally accused of the brutal murder of Kurdish politician Hevrin Khalaf when Ahrar al-Sharqiya ambushed her vehicle on the M4 Highway between Kobani and Ras al-Ayn in October 2019. 

Hevrin Khalaf’s coffin at her funeral, shortly after her body was recovered in 2019.

Al-Shaqra and his organization were sanctioned by the United States Department of the Treasury on July 28, 2021 for their role in this incident and other abuses, especially against Syrian Kurds. The United Nations, Human Rights Watch, and other organizations have also described the killing of Khalaf and other abuses as war crimes and crimes against humanity.

As Damascus attempts to unify Syria under a new style of governance, the appointment of internationally and locally controversial warlords such as Abu Hatem al-Shaqra will hinder Damascus’ ability to gain the trust of Syria’s diverse communities, especially of minority groups such as Alawites, Kurds, Syriacs, Assyrians, and Yazidis, who seek both protection and justice in the transitional period.