Foreign countries stepped up efforts on Sunday to establish contacts with Syria’s interim rulers, a week after Islamist-led rebels sent President Bashar al-Assad fleeing to Moscow, ending decades of brutal rule. Went.
The UN Special Envoy for Syria was among those arriving in the Syrian capital, where he stressed “justice and accountability for crimes”.
“And we need to make sure that this happens through a credible justice system, and that we don’t get any retribution,” Geir Pedersen said.
The rebels’ Telegram channel said he later met with rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani.
A Qatari delegation also arrived in Syria to meet with transitional government officials.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman told the emirate’s official news agency, reaffirming the Gulf emirate’s “full commitment to supporting the Syrian people following the success of the revolution.”
Qatar’s embassy is set to resume operations on Tuesday, 13 years after it was closed in the early stages of an anti-government uprising that turned into years of civil war.
Unlike other Arab countries, Qatar never restored relations with Assad’s Syria.
aid and diplomacy
Turkey, a major player in the Syrian conflict and which wields considerable influence in the northwest, reopened its Damascus embassy on Saturday after 12 years.
And Britain’s foreign minister said London had established diplomatic contacts with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group that led the attack that ousted Assad.
They “remain a banned terrorist organization, but we can have diplomatic contacts and so we have diplomatic contacts,” said David Lammy, who also announced an aid package for the Syrian people.
Washington’s top diplomat Antony Blinken said his country has maintained “direct contacts” with HTS despite declaring the group a terrorist in 2018.
Acting Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said a French diplomatic team was due to arrive in Damascus on Tuesday to “retake possession of our real estate” as well as “establish initial contacts” with the new authorities.
They will also “evaluate the immediate needs of the population,” he said.
torture, death threats
Assad fled Syria on December 8 following an 11-day rebel offensive led by HTS, following years of civil war sparked by his violent crackdown on anti-government protests in 2011.
The war killed more than 500,000 people and displaced more than half the country’s population.
Since rebels took control of Damascus, former prisoners like Ghazi Mohammed al-Mohammed have highlighted the mistreatment they and others like them suffered.
“In the end I just wanted to die, waiting for them to kill us,” said Mohammed, who was among those freed by rebels from the prison system that Assad used to crack down on any sign of dissent. Had to reject.
Mohammed said he did not know why he was arrested and spent more than five months in jail, where he says he was tortured and threatened with death.
‘Massive Destruction’
Peace is slowly returning to the streets of Damascus, with children returning to school on Sunday for the first time since Assad fled.
An official at one school said “not more than 30 per cent” have returned, but the number will “gradually increase”.
The interim governor of Damascus said major obstacles lie ahead.
Maher Marwan said, “The challenges we face right now are large-scale destruction of institutional structures in terms of human resources, local economy and social structure.”
“This is a reality that requires great effort and awareness, in addition to the solidarity of everyone at this stage.”
UN envoy Pedersen called for “increased, immediate” aid to war-torn Syria during his visit to Damascus.
Defense Minister Yasar Guler said on Sunday that Turkey is ready to provide military support to the new Islamist-led government installed by the rebels if requested, Turkish media reported.
He said the new leadership should be given a “chance”. Ankara was “ready to provide necessary assistance” if needed.
Sunni Muslim HTS is rooted in Syria’s al-Qaeda branch and has tried to tone down its rhetoric in recent years.
But its seizure of power has raised widespread concerns over the safety of religious and ethnic minorities.
On Sunday, Syrian Christians attended their first church service since the fall of Assad.
The interim government emphasizes that the rights of all Syrians will be protected under the rule of law.
Russian withdrawal
Assad was supported by Russia, Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it had evacuated some of its diplomatic staff from Syria on Sunday “by a special flight of the Russian Air Force from the Hmeimim airbase in Syria.”
The rebel advance began on November 27, the day a ceasefire took effect in the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon, in which Assad’s ally has suffered heavy losses.
Both Israel and Turkey have launched military attacks inside Syria since the fall of Assad.
Despite hundreds of strikes in his country last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “We have no interest in confronting Syria.”
“Israel’s policy toward Syria will be determined by the emerging reality on the ground,” he said in a video statement.
Early Monday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Israeli strikes had targeted military sites in the country’s coastal Tartus region.
The Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources in Syria, said the bombing was the “heaviest attack” in the region in more than a decade.
Israel has also ordered troops into the UN-patrolled buffer zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights. Saudi Arabia and Qatar have condemned the move, and the UN has said it is similar to the 1974 conflict. There is a violation of the ceasefire.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
