DAMASCUS: The top commander of the fighters who toppled Bashar al-Assad said anyone involved in the torture or killing of detainees under the ousted Syrian president’s rule would be hunted down and pardons were out of the question.
“We will pursue them in Syria and we ask countries to hand over those who fled so that we can obtain justice,” Abu Mohammed al-Golani said in a statement published on the Telegram channel of Syrian state television.
The world is closely watching the ability of Syria’s new leaders to stabilize the country and avoid unleashing violent vengeance, after 13 years of civil war fought along sectarian and ethnic lines that destroyed the country.
Syria ruled one of the most oppressive police states in the Middle East during five decades of Assad family rule. Golani, whose former al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is now the country’s most powerful force, must balance victims’ demands for justice with the need to prevent violent reprisals and secure justice. international aid.
Mohammad al-Bashir, the man appointed by Golani fighters to lead an interim administration, said his goal was to bring back millions of refugees, create unity and provide basic services. But rebuilding would be daunting with little funding available.
“In the coffers, there are only Syrian pounds which are worth nothing or almost nothing. One US dollar buys 35,000 of our coins,” Bashir told Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera.
“We don’t have foreign currencies and when it comes to loans and bonds, we are still collecting data. So yes, financially we are very bad,” said Bashir, who previously headed a small rebel-led administration in a pocket of northwest Syria.
Rebuilding Syria is a colossal task after a civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people, reduced cities to rubble, depopulated the countryside and left the economy hollowed out by international sanctions. Millions of refugees still live in camps after one of the largest displacements in modern times.
Foreign officials are cautiously engaging with former rebels, although HTS remains designated a terrorist organization by Washington, the United Nations, the EU and others.
The new government must “respect clear commitments to fully respect the rights of minorities, to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to all those who need it, to prevent Syria from being used as a base for terrorism or poses a threat to its neighbors,” declared the US Secretary of State. » said Antony Blinken.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: “It is our duty to do everything to support the various Syrian leaders to ensure that they come together and are able to guarantee a smooth transition. »
In addition to terrorism bans in place against former rebels, Syria also remains subject to U.S., European and financial sanctions imposed against Damascus under Assad.
Two senior members of the US Congress, a Republican and a Democrat, have written a letter calling on Washington to suspend certain sanctions. The toughest U.S. wartime sanctions are due for renewal this month, and former rebels told Reuters they were in contact with Washington about possibly easing them.
A resident of Qardaha, the Assad family’s hometown, said fighters had set fire to the mausoleum of Assad’s father, Hafez, over the past two days, spreading fear among villagers from Assad’s Alawite sect who had pledged to cooperate with the new leaders.
For the refugees, the prospect of returning home brought a mixture of joy and sorrow over the difficulties of exile. Syrians lined up at the Turkish border to return home on Wednesday, expressing their expectations for a better life after several decades of hardship in Türkiye.
U.S. deputy national security adviser Jon Finer told Reuters that Washington was still considering how it would interact with the former rebels. Washington remains cautious.
“We have seen over the years a number of groups come to power, who promised to respect minorities, who promised to respect religious freedom, who promised to govern inclusively, and then watch them fail. to keep those promises,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
