The UN called on Wednesday, December 18 for “free and fair elections” in Syria after the transition period opened by the fall of Bashar al-Assad, and called for the rapid sending of massive humanitarian aid to the country, devastated by more than 13 years of civil war. Syria remains subject to international sanctions which HTC chief Abu Mohammed al-Joulani, who now goes by his real name, Ahmad al-Chareh, has called for to be lifted. The new power has set up a transitional government until March 1 and is working to reassure foreign capitals of its ability to pacify the country. HTC’s military chief, Mourhaf Abou Qasra, known by his nom de nom of Abu Hassan al-Hamwi, called on the UN, the United States and the European countries concerned to withdraw HTC, from the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda but which claims to have broken with jihadism, from their lists of terrorist organizations.
Information to remember:
⇒ The fall of Bashar al-Assad is not a “defeat” for Russia, assures Vladimir Putin
⇒ Iraq announces the start of the repatriation of Syrian soldiers who fled the offensive
⇒ HTC must learn lessons from Taliban isolation, warns Antony Blinken
Syria: the fall of Bashar al-Assad is not a “defeat” for Russia, assures Vladimir Putin
The fall of Bashar al-Assad, a close ally of Moscow, is not a “defeat” for Russia, Vladimir Putin assured this Thursday, while estimating that the Russian army, mobilized in Syria since 2015, had “achieved (his) objective”. “We are trying to present what happened in Syria as a defeat for Russia. I assure you that this is not the case,” declared the Russian president during his major annual press conference. “We went to Syria ten years ago to prevent a terrorist enclave from being created there, like in Afghanistan. Overall, we achieved our objective,” he said, recognizing however a “difficult” situation.
In response to a question from an American journalist, Vladimir Putin also assured that he had not seen Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president overthrown in early December and who found refuge with his family in Russia. “I intend to do so. I will certainly speak to him,” he nevertheless declared.
Iraq announces start of repatriation of Syrian soldiers who fled the offensive
Iraq announced this Thursday the start of the repatriation of Syrian soldiers who fled the offensive led by radical Islamists which caused the fall of President Bashar al-Assad. “Today, the Iraqi authorities will begin to return Syrian soldiers to their country in coordination with the Syrian authorities responsible in this area,” said Interior Ministry spokesperson Miqdad Miri.
The Turkish army will continue its preparations until the Kurdish fighters “lay down their arms”
The Turkish army will “continue” its preparations on the Turkish-Syrian border until the Kurdish fighters in northern Syria “lay down their arms”, the Turkish Defense Ministry said this Thursday morning. “The threat to our borders […] persists. Our preparations and measures in our fight against terrorism will continue until the PKK/YPG terrorist organization lays down its arms and its foreign fighters leave Syria,” a spokesperson told Turkish media. word of the ministry, Zeki Akturk.
“We believe that the new Syrian administration and the Syrian National Army (a pro-Turkish faction, editor’s note), as well as the Syrian people, will liberate the occupied regions,” he added, targeting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK ) and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), considered an extension of the PKK by Ankara. An armed group classified as terrorist by Ankara and its Western allies, the PKK has been waging a guerrilla war against the Turkish state since 1984, which seeks to keep Kurdish fighters as far away as possible from its territory and borders. According to observers, Ankara and pro-Turkish groups are threatening to launch an assault on Kobani, a Syrian town held by forces led by Kurdish fighters, on the Turkish border.
Syrian group HTC must learn lessons from Taliban isolation, says Washington
The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken on Wednesday called on the radical Islamists of the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTC) group leading the coalition which seized power in Syria to keep their promises of moderation if they want to avoid isolation imposed on the Afghan Taliban. “The Taliban showed a more moderate face, or at least tried to, when they took control of Afghanistan, and then their real face appeared. The result is that they remain largely isolated around the world “, he declared during a speech at the prestigious Council on Foreign Relations think tank in New York. “If you are the emerging group in Syria, if you don’t want this isolation, there are certain things you need to do to move the country forward,” he added.
HTC’s military chief, Mourhaf Abou Qasra, known by his nom de guerre Abu Hassan al-Hamwi, called on the UN, the United States and relevant European countries to remove HTC from their lists of terrorist organizations. Coming from the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda, HTC claims to have broken with jihadism.