The foreign fighters who helped topple Assad and why China worries about them

"For months, the fighters had been quietly clearing a disused water tunnel just over 2 miles long, deep behind enemy lines in the countryside around Aleppo. During a secret meeting with Ahmed al-Sharaa then the leader of the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and now the leader of Syria they agreed to prepare a joint assault to liberate Aleppo from regime control. These elite fighters were not from Syria. They were Uyghurs a largely Muslim ethnic minority long persecuted in China."

"One unit of soldiers wearing oxygen tanks stationed itself in the poorly ventilated tunnel, which at points was less than a yard high. A second unit lay in wait in olive groves facing Aleppo. At dawn, the unit in the tunnel emerged behind regime troops, while the second unit hit from the front, causing the government troops to scatter in panic. Meanwhile, other rebel units from various militant groups began attacking Aleppo itself."

"Within days, Syria's once-largest city was in rebel hands. "We remained steadfast. Miraculously, all the brothers who charged into death itself came out alive," remembers Hobayd, 31, the commander of the unit inside the tunnel. He recalls the weeks that followed when they chased army soldiers all the way to Syria's capital, Damascus. "Every one of us survived and witnessed the liberation of Syria.""

"Just over a week after Aleppo fell, Syria's recently toppled dictator, Bashar al-Assad, fled to Russia: "From Aleppo, our way to Damascus was clear," adds Hobayd."

An elite group planned a night ambush to cut strategic supply lines supporting regime-held Aleppo. For months, fighters cleared a disused water tunnel more than two miles long deep behind enemy lines near Aleppo. A secret agreement was made to prepare a joint assault to liberate Aleppo. During the offensive in November 2024, one unit entered the poorly ventilated tunnel and positioned itself behind regime troops, while another unit waited in olive groves facing the city. At dawn, the tunnel unit emerged behind government forces and a second unit attacked from the front, causing troops to scatter. Other rebel groups attacked Aleppo simultaneously, and the city fell within days. After Aleppo was captured, fighters pursued government soldiers toward Damascus, where Assad fled to Russia shortly afterward.

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