Dozens of French jihadists are active in Syria in the battle of Idleb, reveals France 24, Friday February 28, images of fighting in support.

"These are a few dozen people present in the area since 2013 and who have set up a camp on the Turkish-Syrian border," said journalist Wassim Nasr, a specialist in jihadist networks, who spoke for two hours via Skype with French recruiter Omar Omsen, head of this jihadist group. Women and children are also on site.

>> See: Syria: Idleb, the last battle of Assad?

Having pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda on his arrival in Syria, these French jihadists "resumed their independence in 2018", according to Omar Omsen. The latter maintains complicated relations with local jihadist leaders and holds paradoxical positions, according to Wassim Nasr. "He spoke out against the Nice attacks that affected civilians, but maintains that the Charlie Hebdo attack was legitimate," said the France 24 journalist in particular.

"France has put my head at a price," says Omar Omsen. "Yet I have never called for attacks in France and I even prevented them," says the jihadist recruiter.

The France 24 week summary invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Download the app

google-play-badge_FR