Qatari royal family members used as leverage in Syrian population swap
Fates of 26 members of hunting party, held hostage for more than a year in Iraq, used to negotiate deal to move residents from Shia and Sunni towns.
The deal was finalised in recent days after nearly two years of negotiations between one of Syria’s main opposition groups, Ahrar al-Sham, and Iran. The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Qatar have also been central – both taking a stake five months ago when members of Doha’s ruling family were offered up as a component of the swap.
The agreement, and the regional choreography surrounding it, marks one of the most sensitive episodes of the Syrian war. Iran and Hezbollah have been determined not to cast the moves as a demographic swap, while Ahrar al-Sham and members of the Syrian political opposition insist that what has been proposed cannot be characterised otherwise.
As the Guardian reported in January, Iran had earlier tied the future of both Sunni towns to the fate of Fua and Kefraya. While the plan at its essence involves relocating four local populations, the intimate involvement of regional powers underscores how deeply embedded the conflict has become in a broader proxy war for power and influence.
The involvement of Bashar al-Assad’s regime has meanwhile been negligible, with Iran and Qatar seeking the release of 1,500 prisoners from Syrian jails, but not including regime officials in discussions.
Two Qataris, both members of a falcon hunting party that had crossed from Saudi Arabia to Iraq where they were captured in December 2015, were released earlier in the week as the deal neared implementation. Sources close to the negotiations have told the Guardian that urgent efforts to secure the fate of the remaining men led to the plan being finalised.
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