The Syrian Future Movement is following with grave concern the attempts by ISIS to exploit the delicate transitional phase in Syria, as evidenced by the inflammatory statement in the editorial of issue 547 of “Al-Naba” magazine, published on Thursday, May 14, 2026, under the title “Between the Follower and the Followed.”
We believe this statement is an attempt to attract and entice a vulnerable and valuable segment of society—foreign fighters—by creating a destructive narrative that the new government has “abandoned them,” with the aim of recruiting them into the ranks of the organization.
The Syrian Future Movement strongly condemns all forms of incitement to violence and rebellion against the Syrian state and denounces any attempt to disrupt the transitional phase and target civil peace. We believe that the statement’s misleading portrayal of the battle against ISIS is merely a reflection of the organization’s fragility, its political and ideological bankruptcy, and a desperate attempt to reposition itself in the fragile areas of Syria.
The Syrian Future Movement warns of the danger of ignoring the issue of foreign fighters and calls for dealing with it with utmost wisdom. The Syrian Future Movement also observes with concern the dual danger of this statement:
First, its exploitation of the frustration and legitimate fears of some foreign fighters regarding their future and fate in post-war Syria.
Second, its attempt to sow discord within the national ranks and portray the state as incapable of protecting itself and managing its diverse military forces.
The Syrian Future Movement emphasizes that the greatest burden in confronting this challenge rests on the Syrian government.
We believe that the calls issued by the organization cannot be countered solely through military and security forces. A comprehensive approach to addressing the root causes of the problem is necessary. This requires the swift implementation of a package of measures, most notably:
- Finding a just and transparent political and military solution for the fate of foreign fighters, either by integrating them into the institutions of the new state according to precise and monitored criteria, or by facilitating their voluntary return to their countries of origin in coordination with the international community, thus ending the uncertainty and ambiguity that the organization exploits.
- Expediting the enactment of legislation to combat terrorism, regulate the status of foreign fighters, distinguish between those proven to have committed bloodshed and those not, and conducting fair and public trials will create a deterrent and limit the exploitation of ISIS propaganda.
The Syrian Future Movement sends a clear message to foreign fighters: they are facing a critical test today. They can either be partners in building a new Syria—a state of law, institutions, and justice—or be exploited as cannon fodder in wars that serve no one but the enemies of stability.
While the Syrian Future Movement recognizes the sacrifices made by many of these fighters in liberating the country from the tyranny of the former regime, it reminds them that the new state they are building together today is the true guarantee of their rights and their future, not the fictitious ISIS promoted by the organization, which knows only killing, destruction, and devastation.
The Syrian Future Movement appreciates the recent raids carried out by the Ministry of Interior against ISIS sleeper cells, and calls for strengthening intelligence work and increasing security cooperation with regional and international powers, because this organization no longer threatens only Syria, but is an enemy of all humanity.
