The leader of a Syrian rebel group has named a new prime minister as the country’s transitional government moves beyond its powers to protect its interests in the event of the fall of the Assad regime.
The new prime minister, Mohammad al-Bashir, previously ran the administration in Idlib under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the strongest rebel group that has moved into Damascus and other cities.
Bashir said in a brief address on state television that he would meet members of the transitional government and the ousted government and that he would remain in his post until March 1.
“Now is the time for these people to enjoy stability and peace,” Bashir said in a separate interview with Al Jazeera.
Israel announced its intention on Tuesday to create a “sterile defensive zone” within the borders of southern Syria, after bombing campaign to target the Syrian navy, chemical weapons sites and other military assets leaving the government
The Israel The Defense Forces (IDF) later said it had carried out more than 480 strikes over the previous 48 hours, “mainly stockpiles of strategic weapons” in Syria to prevent them from falling into the hands of extremists.
In northern Syria, Turkish forces bombed Kurdish targets, and the Turkish Syrian National Army clashed with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which are backed by the US. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 218 people had been killed in three days of fighting between the two forces in Manbij, north-east of Damascus.
The Turkish attack on the SDF has called into question the viability of the small US military presence in northern Syria as well as the SDF’s run of prison camps where Islamic State (IS) fighters and their families are being held. US forces are operating there in partnership with the SDF.
Earlier on Wednesday, SDF leader Mazloum Abdi said the SDF and Turkish rebels had reached a cease-fire agreement in Manbij through US mediation.
Charles Lister, director of Syria development at the Middle East Institute in Washington, said: “The SDF has always made it clear that if its existence was at stake, the prisons would not be the first.
“US troops can only stay on the ground if their SDF partners are viable.”
The Biden administration, with less than six weeks left to run, has been cautious in its response to the results. When the transitional government was named in Damascus, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called it an “inclusive” political process and said US recognition of Syria’s new owners would depend on them meeting those standards.
“The Syrian people will decide the future of Syria. All Nations must pledge to support an inclusive and transparent process and refrain from external interference,” Blinken said in a statement.
“The citizens of the United States will recognize and fully support the future of the Syrian government that results from this process.”
The first signs from Damascus were that HTS was trying to maintain exclusive control of the process.
“It is not a good sign that the transition in Damascus is led by this one,” Lister said, pointing to the past “dictatorial behavior” in Idlib.
Ambassadors of neighboring states and Gulf Arab nations have reportedly held meetings with HTS officials and are widely expected to recognize the transitional government in the coming days.
Western nations generally kept their distance. The US, the UK and the UN have previously designated HTS as a terrorist group, largely due to its previous association with al-Qaida and European countries.
Western capitals are indicated to rethink the design according to HTS behavior, and US officials are reported to have had private relations with HTS.
HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who was also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, wanted to allay fears about how Syria would be dominated, telling Sky News on Tuesday that the country was “exhausted” from the war and was not heading back together.
“Syria will be rebuilt,” he said. “The country is moving towards development and reconstruction. It’s about stability.
The special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, was expected to convene an international conference on the situation this week in Geneva, as events in the country continue to unfold at high speed.
The future of Russian military sites in Syria, such as the naval base at Tartus, the Khmeimim airfield near Latakia, and other military bases, remained in the balance on Tuesday.
Under the leadership of Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the HTS only refrained from attacking Russian military assets. Russian state media reported that the Syrian opposition was “guaranteeing” the security of its facilities, while Moscow said it was ready to talk with Syria’s new dictators.
Ryan Crocker, a former US ambassador to Syria, said: “Both Russia and HTS recognize that neither is facing a new conflict now.”
It was unclear, however, whether the rebels would allow Russian forces to operate in the longer term at their Syrian bases, given Moscow’s role, until a few days ago, in providing the Assad regime with the power to provide air strikes and counter-insurgency civilian bombing targets. – was holding
Agence France-Presse reported that new satellite images of Tartus showed that there were no Russian ships in the port on Monday, but the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, denied that Moscow had abandoned the base.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said: “For Putin and the Iranian government, the fall of Assad is a huge blow for both of them.” Speaking to the European Parliament on Tuesday, Kallas added that there are legitimate concerns about the dangers of sectarian violence and the retreat of extremism in Syria.
The dismantling of the prisons holding IS fighters could top the recent resurgence in IS attacks in Syria and possibly beyond, posing the first dilemma for Donald Trump.
Over the weekend, the president-designate posted on social media to emphasize his opposition to any US involvement in Syria.
“The United States should have nothing to do with it. This is not our fight. He is playing. Don’t get involved!” Theophrastus.
The US has an estimated 900 troops in northern Syria as part of a countermeasures mission in partnership with the SDF. On Sunday, US forces carried out dozens of airstrikes on 75 targets. The head of the US central command, Gen Eric Kurilla, said: “Let there be no doubt – we will not tolerate” [Islamic State] for the benefit of the present time in Syria.
Cleotildus said: “Tuba said that we will remain in the conflict, but we are already in it. But our ability to stay there and hold on [IS] very much in question”.