Amid the propaganda about a reconciliation in Syria between the Islamic State and “Al Qa’eda”, a Chechen commander has claimed that he sought a ceasefire with the Islamic State.
Salakhuddin Shishani, the leader of the mainly-Chechen group Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar, claims he was acting on behalf of not only Jabhat al-Nusra but also the insurgency’s largest bloc, the Islamic Front.
The approach was sharply rebuffed by the Islamic State.
Joanna Paraszczuk has documented the mission, beginning with a statement on Wednesday by the official website of Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar, active in northwest Syria since 2013. The faction said its commander, Salakhuddin Shishanim had met with Islamic State leaders in Raqqa. The “truce mission” was initiated by “jihadist scholars” and commanders of some fighting units (jamaats), following the “international aggression” of US airstrikes in Idlib and Aleppo Provinces.
However, “the conversation…was short” as the Islamic State’s leadership declared the commanders of all the jamaats are “apostates and infidels”.
Chechens supporting the Islamic State claimed Salakhuddin had also approached on behalf of Jabhat al-Nusra and also Jaish al-Islam, a leading faction in the Islamic Front bloc. Salakhuddin’s “incomprehensible words” had been rejected: “We will not make a ceasefire with those who first of all united with clear democrats and fought the Islamic State.” It said the groups had “to officially recognize that [they] were mistaken” and “return to [their] religion” by giving an oath to the Islamic State and its caliphate.
Salakhuddin subsequently put a video statement from Layramoun, northwest of Aleppo, where Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar has been fighting with other factions against the Syrian regime.
He echoed the claim of the pro-Islamic State Chechens that he had been asked by Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic Front to seek the ceasefire with the Islamic State; however, he was told “they would not make any agreement with infidels”.
Neither Jabhat al-Nusra nor the Islamic Front have issued any statement referring to Salakhuddin’s mission.
