Syria’s transitional head of government, Mohammad al-Bashir, told Italy’s Corriere della Sera daily that he would “guarantee the rights of all people and sects in Syria” in an interview published Wednesday. He added that one of his first goals as PM was to “bring back the millions of Syrian refugees who are abroad”. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments.
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit Ankara to meet Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Friday, a Turkish official said on Wednesday.
- Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says toppling of Syria’s Assad was result of US-Israeli plan.
- Syria’s new transitional prime minister, Mohammad al-Bashir, on Tuesday said it was time for “stability and calm” in the country, two days after longtime president Bashar al-Assad was toppled by rebels in a lightning offensive.
- Kurdish-led forces and Turkish-backed fighters announced a US-brokered truce in Manbij, northeast Syria.
Khamenei says Assad’s fall will not weaken Iran
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday the weakening of the anti-Israel “resistance” after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in Syria would not diminish Tehran’s power.
Some, “unaware of the meaning of resistance, imagine that when the resistance becomes weak, Islamic Iran will also become weak… Iran is strong and powerful and will become even more powerful,” Khamenei said in his first speech after Assad’s fall.
FRANCE 24’s correspondent Saeed Azimi has the latest from Tehran.
Russia warns Islamic State group militants may raise their head again in Syria, says RIA
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned on Wednesday that there was a real risk that Islamic State (IS) group militants could raise their flag again in Syria, the state RIA news agency reported.
IS group is designated as a “terrorist group” by authorities in Russia who have banned it.
Russia says its facilities in Syria are protected by international law
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that Russian facilities and assets in Syria were protected by the norms of international law.
Zakharova urged all sides in Syria to adopt a responsible approach to restore security and stability as soon as possible.
Russia has a major air base in Latakia province and a naval facility at Tartous, its only Mediterranean repair and replenishment hub.
New Syrian PM vows to ‘guarantee rights’ of all people, sects
Mohammad al-Bashir, Syria’s transitional head of government to run the country until March, told Italy’s Corriere della Sera daily that his government would guarantee the rights of all people and all sects in Syria, in an interview published Wednesday
Bashir told the Corriere that the “wrong behaviour of some Islamist groups has led many people, especially in the West, to associate Muslims with terrorism and Islam with extremism”.
“The meaning of Islam, which is ‘religion of justice’, was distorted. Precisely because we are Islamic, we will guarantee the rights of all people and all sects in Syria.”
“We have no problem with anyone, state, party or sect, who kept their distance from the bloodthirsty Assad regime,” he added.
Iran’s Khamenei says Tehran had warned Syrian government about threats, according to Tasnim
Iranian intelligence had warned the Syrian government about threats to its stability over the last three months, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday according to semi-official Tasnim news agency, adding that Damascus had “neglected the enemy”.
Kremlin says in contact with new Syrian leadership over Russian bases
The Kremlin said Wednesday that it was in contact with the new Syrian leadership over the fate of Russia’s military bases in the country, following the overthrow of Moscow’s ally Bashar al-Assad.
“We are in contact with those who control the situation in Syria,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “This is necessary since our (military) base and diplomatic mission are there.”
Qatar says it will soon reopen its embassy in Syria, foreign ministry says
Qatar said on Wednesday that it would soon reopen its embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus after president Bashar al-Assad’s ouster in an Islamist-led rebel offensive.
The Gulf country “will soon reopen its embassy in the sisterly Syrian Arab Republic after completing the necessary arrangements”, foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said in a statement.
Kremlin says security of Russian bases in Syria is of utmost importance
Ensuring the security of Russia’s military bases and diplomatic missions in Syria is of paramount importance, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was maintaining contacts with those in charge in Syria and that Moscow hoped for a stabilisation of the situation there.
Russia has a major air base in Latakia province and a naval facility at Tartous, its only Mediterranean repair and replenishment hub.
Syria has in the past been a key staging post for Russian military contractors flying in and out of Africa.
Syrians hope for freedom, democracy in wake of Assad’s ousting
Syrians have reacted positively to the appointment of interim prime minister, Mohammad al-Bashir, says FRANCE 24’s senior reporter James André, reporting from Damascus.
Hopes are high that new leadership will mark a fresh start. “One young woman was telling me that what she wants is freedom, another young man was telling me that what he wants is an opposition… he said, I don’t mind who gets into power, what I want is that there be a counter-power,” André said.
Pope Francis calls on Syrian rebels to stabilise country
Pope Francis on Wednesday called on the Syrian rebels who toppled the regime of President Bashar al-Assad to stabilise the country, and govern in a way that promotes national unity.
“I hope they find political solutions that, without other conflicts or divisions, responsibly promote the stability and unity of the country,” the pontiff said during his weekly audience at the Vatican.
The pope, in his first public remarks about Syria since the ending of al-Assad’s rule, also called on the country’s diverse religious groups to “walk together in friendship and mutual respect for the good of the nation”.
Francis, as leader of the 1.4-billion-member Catholic Church, often addresses global conflicts, and usually stresses the importance of de-escalation.
New Syria PM calls for Syrians abroad to return
Syria’s new transitional prime minister has called for Syrians who have sought refuge abroad to return to their homeland following the ouster of longtime president Bashar al-Assad.
Mohammad al-Bashir, appointed by rebel groups as the transitional head of government to run the country until March, told Italy’s Corriere della Sera daily that one of his first goals was to “bring back the millions of Syrian refugees who are abroad”.
“Their human capital, their experience will allow the country to flourish,” Bashir said in an interview published Wednesday.
“Mine is an appeal to all Syrians abroad: Syria is now a free country that has earned its pride and dignity. Come back. We must rebuild, be reborn, and we need everyone’s help.”
Pope calls for ‘mutual respect’ between religions in Syria
Pope Francis called Wednesday for “mutual respect” between religions in Syria, three days after the country’s longtime president Bashar al-Assad was toppled by rebels in a lightning offensive.
“I pray… that the Syrian people may live in peace and security in their beloved land and the different religions may walk together in friendship and mutual respect for the good of that nation afflicted by so many years of war,” said Francis, who leads the world’s Catholics.
At this “delicate moment” of Syria’s history “I hope that a political solution will be reached that without further conflicts and divisions will responsibly promote the stability and unity of the country”, he said during his weekly audience at the Vatican.
Syria Kurdish-led force announces US-brokered truce with Turkish-backed fighters in Manbij
The chief of the Kurdish-led force controlling swathes of Syria’s northeast announced a US-brokered ceasefire on Wednesday in the Arab-majority Manbij area, where clashes with Turkish-backed fighters killed 218 combatants.
“We have reached a ceasefire agreement in Manbij via US mediation,” said Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazloum Abdi, adding fighters of the SDF-affiliated Manbij Military Council “will be withdrawn from the area as soon as possible”.
‘Israel saw a vacuum’ caused by the end of the Assad regime
Israeli interventions in Syria since the ousting of president Bashar al-Assad are an attempt to “take Syria back to the period before Iran began using Syria as a weapons hub for the transmission of armaments to Hezbollah in Lebanon”, says FRANCE 24 correspondent Noga Tarnopolsky.
Iran’s Khamenei says toppling of Syria’s Assad was result of US-Israeli plan
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday Iran had evidence that the toppling of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was a result of a plan by the US, Israel and one of Syria’s neighbours that he did not name.
Blinken set to visit Ankara to meet Turkish foreign minister, Turkish official says
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit Ankara to meet Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Friday, a Turkish official said on Wednesday.
The two are expected to discuss the situation in Syria after Bashar al-Assad was ousted as president in a lightning rebel offensive.
New Syria PM calls for ‘stability and calm’
Syria’s new transitional prime minister on Tuesday said it was time for “stability and calm” in the country, two days after longtime president Bashar al-Assad was toppled by rebels in a lightning offensive.
The rebels appointed Mohammad al-Bashir as the transitional head of government to run the country until March 1, a statement said.
“Now it is time for this people to enjoy stability and calm,” Bashir told Qatar’s Al Jazeera television in his first interview since being appointed.
Assad fled Syria as an Islamist-led opposition alliance swept into the capital Damascus over the weekend, bringing to an end five decades of brutal rule by his clan. A senior official told US broadcaster NBC that the ousted Syrian leader was now in Moscow.
Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the Islamist leader who headed the rebel offensive, had previously announced talks on a transfer of power and vowed to pursue former senior officials responsible for torture and war crimes.
US-backed SDF, Turkey-backed rebels reach ceasefire in Manbij
The US-backed Kurdish Syrian forces (SDF) and Syria’s Turkey-backed rebels reached a ceasefire agreement in the northern city of Manbij through a US mediation “to ensure the safety and security of civilians”, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi said early on Wednesday.
“The fighters of the Manbij Military Council, who have been resisting the attacks since November 27, will withdraw from the area as soon as possible,” Abdi added.
Syrian civil war refugees begin journey home as temporary PM appointed
Refugees from Syria’s long civil war were making their way home on Wednesday, as a new interim prime minister said he had been appointed with the backing of the rebels who toppled president Bashar al-Assad.
Welcome to our liveblog, where we post the latest news on the situation unfolding in Syria. To read all about yesterday’s key developments, click here.
Yesterday’s key developments:
- Fighting between Turkish-backed and Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria has left 218 people dead in just three days, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor reported on Tuesday.
- Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani vowed the country would not face another war, telling Sky News on Tuesday that its citizens were already “exhausted” by years of conflict.
- A senior Russian official told US broadcaster NBC on Tuesday that deposed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad is being hosted in Russia, in the government’s first confirmation of the situation.
- US troops are staying in Syria because they have an important mission to complete there, US Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer said in an interview at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York on Tuesday.
- The Lebanese army said on Tuesday it had fired warning shots after gunmen crossed the border from Syria, approached an army border post and fired shots in the air.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)