Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) explained the reasons for its arrest of the French jihadist and Ghuraba Division leader, Omar Omsen, a few days ago in the Idlib governorate, northwestern Syria.
According to its public relations manager, Taqi al-Din Omar, HTS arrested Omsen based on several charges including heading a miniature administration, which includes conducting procedures related to personal status such as marriage, divorce, and transactions.
According to HTS, Omsen organized trials and established a mini-prison in the areas his group controls. Omar stated that these actions were taken in dissociation from the authority responsible for managing the northern Syria region.
“All these measures, added to the little eligibility and lack of experience, spawn corruption and evil. They result in jeopardizing rights and tampering with sanctities. The official authorities, after their strenuous efforts to control civil and criminal issues, will never allow these actions,” he added.
According to media sources, Omsen, 51, arrived in Syria in 2013 and headed a battalion in the forests of Latakia. The French authorities accuse him of recruiting 80% of the French-speaking people who went to Syria and Iraq.
The United States designated Omsen a global terrorist in 2016.
Reuters reported at that time that Omsen had participated in terrorist operations with the Nusra Front (HTS as of late).
Recently, HTS began to tighten its grip on the figures affiliated with militants and immigrants in the Idlib governorate — where it arrested many of them — the last of whom is relief worker, Abu Hussam al-Britani, American journalist Bilal Abdel Karim, and Egyptian figures it had previously worked with, such as Abu Shuaib al-Masry.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
