In Syria, a little more than 48 hours after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, the power of the rebels of the Islamist movement Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTC) is taking shape. Their leader, Abu Mohammed al-Joulani, launched discussions on the transfer of power on Monday, after overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday. At the same time, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke on Monday and said they were “ready to cooperate with the new leaders” under conditions, the German chancellery said.
Information to remember
⇒ Israel destroyed main military sites in Syria
⇒ Rebels to publish list of torturers
⇒ Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron are ready, under conditions, to “cooperate with the new leaders”
Syrian rescuers announce end of search at Sednaya prison
The White Helmets, Syrian rescuers, announced this Tuesday the end of search operations in Sednaya prison, where they suspected the existence of underground dungeons, without having found any detainees. “The White Helmets announce the conclusion of search operations (…) without having found any secret or hidden places” in this prison, they said in a press release.
It was one of the rebels’ first measures: the release of prisoners, particularly in Damascus. On social networks, images showed dozens of men, emaciated faces, some carried by comrades because they were too weak to move forward alone, leaving Sednaya prison after its release on Sunday. These ex-prisoners poured into the streets of Damascus in waves, some completely disoriented. The families of the detainees believed that many were still locked in secret dungeons in the basement of this prison, a symbol of the worst abuses of Assad’s security forces and described as a “human slaughterhouse” by Amnesty International. Thousands of people had gathered since Sunday, the day of the fall of Damascus, around the prison waiting for news of their missing loved ones.
Iran condemns ‘violation’ of law after Israeli incursion into Golan buffer zone
Iran has condemned as a “violation” of the law an incursion by the Israeli army into the buffer zone of the Syrian Golan, a territory under UN control separating Syria from Israel and supposed to be demilitarized under a 1974 agreement. “This aggression is a flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations,” criticized the spokesperson for Iranian diplomacy, Esmaïl Baghaï, in a press release published Monday evening.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday that he had ordered the army to “take control” of this buffer zone after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. A “limited and temporary” measure taken for security reasons, assured its Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Saar on Monday. The very “temporary” presence of Israeli troops in Syria in the buffer zone on the edge of the part of the Golan Heights occupied and annexed by Israel constitutes “a violation” of the 1974 disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria, a the UN spokesperson said on Monday.
Israel destroyed major military sites in Syria
The Israeli army “destroyed the main military sites in Syria” by carrying out around 250 strikes against Syrian territory since the capture of Damascus by rebels and the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian Observatory for Rights said on Tuesday. of Man (OSDH). Loud explosions rang out in Damascus on Tuesday, according to AFP journalists.
According to this organization, which relies on a vast network of sources across Syria, Israel has, among other things, bombed airports, radars, arms and ammunition depots, military research centers, and damaged ships. of the Syrian navy by attacking an air defense unit near the major port of Latakia, in the northwest of the country.
Syria: rebels will publish a list of torturers
The rebels who took control of the government in Syria will publish a list of “the highest officials involved in torture against the people”, their commander, Abu Mohammed al-Joulani, announced on Tuesday. “We will offer rewards to anyone who provides information on senior army and security officials involved in war crimes,” the rebel leader, who for several days has also been calling himself his real name, Ahmed al-Chareh.
“We will pursue the war criminals and demand that they be handed over by the countries where they fled so that they can receive their just punishment,” he also affirmed, while Lebanese media indicate that several former Officials of the government of deposed President Bashar al-Assad took refuge in Beirut, under the protection of the Shiite movement Hezbollah, one of the main supporters of the former authorities.
Washington seeks information on journalist kidnapped in Syria
After the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, the United States announced Monday that it was increasing its efforts to gather information on an American journalist kidnapped in Syria in 2012, with the sending to the region of an emissary responsible for the release of hostages. American envoy Roger Carstens arrived near Beirut with the mission of gathering information on Austin Tice, American officials said.
Austin Tice is an independent journalist, who worked notably for McClatchy News, the Washington Post and AFP, and covered the war in Syria. He was kidnapped in August 2012 from Daraya, a suburb of Damascus, where the army had carried out a search operation. The United States said it was ready to “cooperate with any group likely to have information on the whereabouts of Austin Tice,” detailed State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller. In 2022, American President Joe Biden affirmed that the United States was “certain” that the journalist was “detained by the Syrian regime”, ensuring that he had requested his release.
Syria: Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron are ready, under conditions, to “cooperate with the new leaders”
“Both agreed that they were ready to cooperate with the new leaders, on the basis of fundamental human rights and the protection of ethnic and religious minorities,” according to the Berlin press release, after a call telephone call between French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. They again stressed “the importance of preserving the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria.”
The two leaders agreed to work together to strengthen the European Union’s engagement in Syria, notably by supporting an “inclusive political process” in Syria, in close coordination with their Middle Eastern partners, Berlin adds.