Exclusive-UN report sees no active Syrian state links to Al Qaeda

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -United Nations sanctions monitors have seen no "active ties" this year between Al Qaeda and the Islamist group leading Syria's interim government, an unpublished U.N. report said, a finding that could strengthen an expected U.S. push for removing U.N. sanctions on Syria.

The report, seen by Reuters on Thursday, is likely to be published this month.

Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham is Al Qaeda's former branch in Syria but broke ties in 2016. The group, previously known as al-Nusra Front, led the rebellion that toppled President Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive in December, and HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa became Syria's interim president.

The report comes as diplomats expect the United States to seek the removal of U.N. sanctions on HTS and Sharaa, who has said he wants to build an inclusive and democratic Syria.

"Many tactical-level individuals hold more extreme views than ... Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Khattab, who are generally regarded as more pragmatic than ideological," the U.N. report said. It covered the six months to June 22 and relied on contributions and assessments from U.N. member states. 

Since May 2014, HTS has been subject to U.N. sanctions including a global assets freeze and arms embargo. A number of HTS members also face sanctions like a travel ban and asset freeze - including Sharaa, who has been listed since July 2013.

The U.N. monitors wrote in their report to the Security Council: "Some member states raised concerns that several HTS and aligned members, especially those in tactical roles or integrated into the new Syrian army, remained ideologically tied to Al Qaeda."

U.S. President Donald Trump announced a major U.S. policy shift in May when he said he would lift U.S. sanctions on Syria. He signed an executive order enacting this at the end of June, and Washington revoked its foreign terrorist organization designation of HTS this week.

The U.S. said then that revoking the designation was a step towards Trump's vision of a peaceful and unified Syria.

The U.S. is "reviewing our remaining terrorist designations related to HTS and Syria and their placement on the U.N. sanctions list," a State Department spokesperson told Reuters. 

Diplomats, humanitarian organizations and regional analysts have said lifting sanctions would help rebuild Syria's shattered economy, steer the country away from authoritarianism and reduce the appeal of radical groups.

Trump and his advisers have argued that doing so would also serve U.S. interests by opening opportunities for American businesses, countering Iranian and Russian influence and potentially limiting the call for U.S. military involvement in the region.

OBSTACLES TO US EFFORT

But Washington faces diplomatic obstacles to get Security Council backing for removing the sanctions.

The U.S. will also need to win support from Russia - which was an ally to Assad - and China for any Syria sanctions relief at the U.N., diplomats said.

Both are particularly concerned about foreigners who joined HTS during the 13-year war between rebel groups and Assad. The U.N. experts said there were estimated to be more than 5,000 foreign fighters in Syria.

The status of foreign fighters has been one of the most fraught issues hindering Syria's rapprochement with the West. But the U.S. has given its blessing to a plan by Syria's new leaders to integrate foreign fighters into the army. 

“China is gravely concerned about such developments. The Syrian interim authorities should earnestly fulfill their counter-terrorism obligations," China’s U.N. Ambassador Fu Cong told the Security Council last month.

He said Syria must combat terrorist organizations including "the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, also known as the Turkistan Islamic Party.” Uyghur fighters from China and Central Asia are members of the Turkistan Islamic Party. Rights groups accuse Beijing of widespread abuses of the mainly Muslim ethnic minority.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the Security Council last month that it was essential Syria's "army and police are staffed exclusively by professional personnel with untainted track records," an apparent reference to irregular fighters like militants.

The U.N. monitors said some foreign fighters rejected the move to integrate them into the military. "Defections occurred among those who see Sharaa as a sell-out, raising the risk of internal conflict and making Sharaa a potential target," the U.N. experts said. 

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; additional reporting by Timour Azhari; editing by Don Durfee and)