Former loyalists to deposed Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad are funnelling millions of dollars to tens of thousands of potential fighters in a bid to start uprisings against the country’s fledgling government, a Reuters investigation has found.

The plot, uncovered through interviews with 48 people and financial documents reviewed by the Reuters news agency, comes as Syria marks one year since al-Assad’s fall and as the new government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa gains international legitimacy.

The schemes threaten to ignite new sectarian violence at a pivotal moment in the country’s fragile transition.

Two men once closest to al-Assad – Major-General Kamal Hassan, his former military intelligence chief, and billionaire cousin Rami Makhlouf – are competing from exile in Moscow to

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