The killing of Syrian fighter chief Zahran Alloush, fiercely opposed to both the regime and the Daesh group, has eliminated a key bulwark against the militants and could derail UN-brokered peace talks, analysts say.
The head of Jaish Al-Islam, the foremost rebel group in Damascus province, was killed on Friday in an air strike claimed by Syria’s government.
Jaish Al-Islam has fought off both government forces and Daesh rebels in its Eastern Ghouta bastion, east of the capital.
But with Alloush gone, that centralising force has vanished, says Andrew Tabler, analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
“He occupied a space between the extremists and the Free Syrian Army, which was important to hold off the spread of Daesh in the short term and unify the fighters vis-a-vis the regime in the long term,” says Tabler.
Without him, extremist fighters could lean toward further radicalization and join radical groups, Tabler adds.
Despite Alloush’s ferocious opposition to Daesh, Syria’s regime and its media consistently referred to him and to Jaish Al-Islam as “terrorists.”
Syrian Army command did so again in the statement claiming responsibility for his death.
Damascus has used the term for all its opponents — including US-backed fighters — since the conflict erupted in 2011.
It has strived to present itself globally as a legitimate government fighting militant groups across the country.
Alloush’s death is “a major blow to the fighters,” says Karim Bitar of the Institute for International and Strategic Affairs.
“It might temporarily help the regime, as his disappearance reinforces the binary Assad-versus-Daesh dichotomy,” Bitar tells AFP.
It could also thwart potential peace talks between the regime and the opposition, which the UN announced could begin in less than one month.
His killing is “a severe blow to the negotiations process.”
Jaish Al-Islam will need time “to recover from this blow and for the alternative leadership to emerge,” he adds.
And given Alloush’s fate, other groups participating in the talks could back out.
“His death shows the severe disincentive of militant groups to stay in the negotiations outlined by the UN,” Tabler tells AFP.
In a statement released recently, UN peace envoy Staffan de Mistura said he would aim to convene the landmark meeting between the opposition and the regime on Jan. 25 in Geneva.
He expressed hopes the “broadest possible spectrum” of opposition representatives would be involved, he adding: “Continuing developments on the ground should not be allowed to derail it.”
Jaish Al-Islam was one of the most influential armed groups invited to broad-based opposition talks held earlier this month.
Representatives of the talks agreed to eventual negotiations with the regime and were set to choose at least part of the opposition delegation for upcoming negotiations.
Source: Arab Today