By SARAH EL DEEB, BASSEM MROUE and TIA GOLDENBERG
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria’s prime minister stated Monday that almost all cupboard ministers are nonetheless working from places of work in Damascus after rebels entered the capital over the weekend and overthrew President Bashar Assad. Streams of refugees crossed again into Syria from neighboring nations, hoping for a extra peaceable future.
However there have been already indicators of the difficulties forward for the insurgent alliance now answerable for a lot of the nation, which is led by a former senior al-Qaida militant who severed ties with the extremist group years in the past and has promised consultant authorities and spiritual tolerance.
The insurgent command stated Monday they’d not inform girls how one can gown.
“It is strictly forbidden to interfere with women’s dress or impose any request related to their clothing or appearance, including requests for modesty,” the Basic Command stated in a press release on social media.
In the meantime, some key authorities companies had shut down as state staff ignored calls to return to their jobs, a U.N. official stated, inflicting points at airports and borders and slowing the move of humanitarian assist.
Israel stated it’s finishing up airstrikes on suspected chemical weapons websites and long-range rockets to maintain them from falling into the arms of extremists. Israel has additionally seized a buffer zone inside Syria after Syrian troops withdrew.
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In northern Syria, Turkey stated allied opposition forces seized the city of Manbij from Kurdish-led forces backed by the US, a reminder that even after Assad’s departure to Russia the nation stays break up amongst armed teams which have fought previously.
The Kremlin stated Russia has granted political asylum to Assad, a choice made by President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to touch upon Assad’s particular whereabouts and stated Putin was not planning to satisfy with him.
Damascus was quiet on Monday, with life slowly returning to regular whereas most retailers and public establishments have been closed. In public squares, some individuals have been nonetheless celebrating. Civilian visitors resumed however there was no public transport. Lengthy traces shaped in entrance of bakeries and different meals shops.
There was little signal of any safety presence, and Related Press reporters noticed a couple of SUVs on the aspect of a fundamental boulevard that appeared to have been damaged into.
In some areas, small teams of armed males have been stationed within the streets. A video circulating on-line confirmed a person in army fatigues holding a rifle trying to reassure residents of the Mezzeh neighborhood in Damascus that they’d not be harmed.
“We have nothing against you, neither Alawite, nor Christian, nor Shiite, nor Druze, but everyone must behave well, and no one should try to attack us,” the fighter stated.
Prime minister says the federal government continues to be operational
Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali, who remained in his put up after Assad and most of his prime officers vanished over the weekend, has sought to venture normalcy.
He stated the federal government is coordinating with the insurgents, and that he’s prepared to satisfy insurgent chief Ahmad al-Sharaa, previously referred to as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, who made a triumphal look at a famed Damascus mosque on Sunday.
On the courtroom of Justice in Damascus, which was stormed by the rebels to free detainees, Choose Khitam Haddad, an aide to the justice minister within the outgoing authorities, stated Sunday that judges have been able to resume work rapidly.
“We want to give everyone their rights,” Haddad stated exterior the courthouse. “We want to build a new Syria and to keep the work, but with new methods.”
However a U.N. official stated some authorities companies had been paralyzed as frightened state staff stayed residence.
The general public sector “has just come to a complete and abrupt halt,” stated U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria Adam Abdelmoula, noting, for instance, that an assist flight carrying urgently wanted medical provides had been placed on maintain after aviation staff deserted their jobs.
“This is a country that has had one government for 53 years and then suddenly all of those who have been demonized by the public media are now in charge in the nation’s capital,” Abdelmoula advised The Related Press.
Individually, a Syrian opposition conflict monitor stated a prime aide to Assad’s brother, Maher, was discovered lifeless in his workplace close to Damascus. A video that circulated on social media purportedly confirmed Maj. Gen. Ali Mahmoud coated with blood and together with his garments burned. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated it was not clear if he was killed or died by suicide.
Maher Assad led the military’s 4th Armored Division, which performed a significant position within the civil conflict that erupted in 2011 after a preferred rebellion towards Assad led to a violent crackdown on dissent and the rise of an insurgency.
Israel confirms it has struck suspected chemical weapons and rockets
Israelis welcomed the autumn of Assad, who was a key ally of Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, whereas expressing concern over what comes subsequent. Israel says its forces quickly seized a buffer zone inside Syria courting again to a 1974 settlement after Syrian troops withdrew within the chaos.
“The only interest we have is the security of Israel and its citizens,” Israeli International Minister Gideon Saar advised reporters on Monday. “That’s why we attacked strategic weapons systems, like, for example, remaining chemical weapons, or long-range missiles and rockets, in order that they will not fall in the hands of extremists.”
Saar didn’t present particulars about when or the place the strikes befell.
An AP journalist in Damascus reported airstrikes within the space of the Mezzeh army airport, southwest of the capital, on Sunday. The airport has beforehand been focused in Israeli airstrikes. Strikes have been additionally heard within the capital on Monday.
Israel has carried out a whole lot of airstrikes in Syria lately, concentrating on what it says are army websites associated to Iran and Hezbollah. Israeli officers not often touch upon particular person strikes.
Syria agreed to surrender its chemical weapons stockpile in 2013, after the federal government was accused of launching an assault close to Damascus that killed a whole lot of individuals. However it’s extensively believed to have stored a number of the weapons and was accused of utilizing them once more in subsequent years.
Turkey says its allies have taken northern city
Officers in Turkey, which is the principle supporter of the Syrian opposition to Assad, say its allies have taken full management of the northern Syrian metropolis of Manbij from a U.S.-supported and Kurdish-led pressure referred to as the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF.
The SDF stated a Turkish drone struck within the village of al-Mistriha in jap Syria, killing 12 civilians, together with six youngsters.
Turkey views the SDF, which is primarily composed of a Syrian Kurdish militia, as an extension of the banned Kurdistan Staff’ Get together, or PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency in Turkey. The SDF has additionally been a key ally of the US within the conflict towards the Islamic State group.
Turkish International Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday expressed hope for a brand new period in Syria through which ethnic and spiritual teams can stay peacefully beneath an inclusive authorities. However he warned towards permitting Islamic State or Kurdish fighters to reap the benefits of the state of affairs, saying Turkey will stop Syria from turning right into a “haven for terrorism.”
Mroue reported from Beirut and Goldenberg from Tel Aviv, Israel. Related Press author Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report.
Initially Revealed: December 9, 2024 at 11:05 AM EST
