Germany indicts 4 for supporting al-Nusra in Syria
September 16, 2021
German federal prosecutors have said they indicted four men on suspicion of providing help to Islamist militant group Jabhat al-Nusra.
Al-Nusra was al-Qaeda's branch in Syria, but it later broke awayImage: Guillaume Briquet/AFP/Getty Images
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German federal prosecutors on Thursday said they had indicted four men on suspicion of supporting Islamist extremist group Jabhat al-Nusra.
One of the men is also accused of joining the group and traveling to Syria to fight with the breakaway offshoot of al-Qaida.
What exactly are the men accused of?
The German citizen Marius A. allegedly went to Syria in October 2013 and joined al-Nusra. He is understood to have remained a member until March 2014 and took part in fighting at least once.
Prosecutors said he also received funds from the group while he was in Turkey.
Marius A. was detained last September in Senegal. He was extradited to Germany in May and remains in custody.
Three other German nationals, with dual or triple citizenship, were also indicted.
They were German-American citizen Maher M., German-Algerian citizen Mohamed S. and the German, Spanish and Moroccan citizen Avid E.G.M.
They are accused of raising money for Nusra at Marius A.'s request and transferring the cash to him in late 2013 or early 2014.
Who's fighting in the Syria conflict?
Syria's civil war erupted out of the Arab Spring protests that swept much of the Middle East and North Africa in 2011. The conflict has since drawn in multiple warring factions from around the world.
Image: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
War with no end
Syria has been engulfed in a devastating civil war since 2011 after Syrian President Bashar Assad lost control over large parts of the country to multiple revolutionary groups. The conflict has since drawn in foreign powers and brought misery and death to Syrians.
Image: picture alliance/abaca/A. Al-Bushy
The dictator
Syria's army, officially known as the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), is loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and is fighting to restore the president's rule over the entire country. The SAA has been fighting alongside a number of pro-Assad militias such as the National Defense Force and has cooperated with military advisors from Russia and Iran, which back Assad.
Turkey, which is also part of the US-led coalition against IS, has actively supported rebels opposed to Assad. It has a tense relationship with its American allies over US cooperation with Kurdish fighters, who Ankara says are linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighting in Turkey. Turkey has launched multiple military offensives targeting Kurdish militias.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/L. Pitarakis
The eastern guardian
The Kremlin has proven to be a powerful friend to Assad. Russian air power and ground troops officially joined the fight in September 2015 after years of supplying the Syrian army. Moscow has come under fire from the international community for the high number of civilian casualties during its airstrikes. However, Russia's intervention turned the tide in war in favor of Assad.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Tass/M. Metzel
The western allies
A US-led coalition of more than 50 countries, including Germany, began targeting IS and other terrorist targets with airstrikes in late 2014. The anti-IS coalition has dealt major setbacks to the militant group. The US has more than a thousand special forces in the country backing the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/A.Brandon
The rebels
The Free Syrian Army grew out of protests against the Assad regime that eventually turned violent. Along with other non-jihadist rebel groups, it seeks the ouster of President Assad and democratic elections. After suffering a number of defeats, many of its members defected to hardline militant groups. It garnered some support from the US and Turkey, but its strength has been greatly diminished.
Image: Reuters
The resistance
Fighting between Syrian Kurds and Islamists has become its own conflict. The US-led coalition against the "Islamic State" has backed the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias. The Kurdish YPG militia is the main component of the SDF. The Kurds have had a tacit understanding with Assad.
Image: Getty Images/A. Sik
The new jihadists
"Islamic State" (IS) took advantage of regional chaos to capture vast swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014. Seeking to establish its own "caliphate," IS has become infamous for its fundamentalist brand of Islam and its mass atrocities. IS is on the brink of defeat after the US and Russia led separate military campaigns against the militant group.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo
The old jihadists
IS is not the only terrorist group that has ravaged Syria. A number of jihadist militant groups are fighting in the conflict, warring against various rebel factions and the Assad regime. One of the main jihadist factions is Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which controls most of Idlib province and has ties with al-Qaeda.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Nusra Front on Twitter
The Persian shadow
Iran has supported Syria, its only Arab ally, for decades. Eager to maintain its ally, Tehran has provided Damascus with strategic assistance, military training and ground troops when the conflict emerged in 2011. The Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah also supports the Assad regime, fighting alongside Iranian forces and paramilitary groups in the country.
Image: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
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What is Jabhat al-Nusra?
The group, also known as the al-Nusra Front or Nusra, has also been described as al-Qaeda in Syria or al-Qaeda in the Levant.
Rather than focusing on global jihad, its objective was the "near enemy" of the Syrian regime.
Formed in 2012, it was primarily composed of Syrian jihadis who wanted to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad and create an Islamic emirate under Shariah law.
In 2012, the Washington Post described al-Nusra as "the most aggressive and successful" of the rebel forces.
Numerous foreign fighters joined the group, to eventually make up about 30% of its members.
The group was fractured in 2013 by the formation of the "Islamic State," with some members swearing allegiance to that Islamist group and others refusing.
For a time, al-Nusra was the official Syrian branch of al-Qaida, before joining with other Islamist groups to eventually become Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. That group denies being part of al-Qaida.
