U.S. diplomats have returned to Syria to have interaction with its new rulers, marking a major growth within the aftermath of Bashar al-Assad’s ouster.
The State Department introduced Friday that these discussions goal to evaluate the brand new management’s dedication to moderation and inclusivity, as worldwide powers navigate a quickly shifting political panorama.
The removing of Assad has ended many years of autocratic rule and a brutal civil battle.
However, it has additionally raised alarms, significantly over minority rights and girls’s standing.
Demonstrations throughout the nation replicate these tensions, with protests demanding democracy and girls’s rights erupting in Damascus for the primary time since Assad’s departure.
HTS’s position and international scrutiny
The fast offensive that compelled Assad’s exit was spearheaded by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
HTS’s sudden ascension has left international governments scrambling to recalibrate their insurance policies.
U.S. diplomats, making their first formal go to to Damascus for the reason that early days of the civil battle, are participating with HTS representatives, activists, minority teams and civil society leaders.
“We’re discussing their vision for Syria’s future and how the U.S. can provide support,” a State Department spokesperson mentioned.
The delegation additionally consists of the U.S. envoy for hostages, searching for data on lacking Americans, together with journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared in Syria in 2012.
International reactions
Secretary of State Antony Blinken not too long ago acknowledged direct U.S. contact with HTS throughout a regional tour.
At a summit in Jordan, Western and Arab powers, alongside Türkiye, emphasised the necessity for an “inclusive, non-sectarian government” in Syria that respects its numerous communities.
Similar calls emerged at talks in Cairo, the place Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian urged together with all Syrian factions within the new authorities.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan echoed this sentiment whereas demanding Syria’s “territorial integrity” and the elimination of terrorist threats.
Türkiye’s navy focus stays on PKK, designated as a terrorist group by each Washington and Ankara. PKK’s Syrian wing, YPG, occupies a number of cities in northeastern Syria.
Women’s rights in focus
In Damascus, a various crowd protested towards spiritual rule, demanding democracy and gender equality.
Outrage erupted after a authorities spokesperson dismissed feminine illustration in management as “premature.” Majida Mudarres, a retired civil servant, voiced her frustration: “Women play a crucial role in politics. The era of silence is over.”
Global implications
The worldwide group has reacted cautiously to Assad’s departure.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the event as a “flame of hope” for a area scarred by battle however warned of great challenges forward, together with continued Israeli airstrikes violating Syria’s sovereignty.
Guterres additionally condemned Israel’s navy actions in a U.N.-administered buffer zone.
Assad, who fled to Russia on Dec. 8, has made just one public assertion since his exile.
Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed ideas that Assad’s fall was a setback for Moscow.
“We achieved our goal of preventing a terrorist enclave in Syria,” he mentioned throughout a press convention, emphasizing Russia’s decade-long involvement within the battle.
Since Assad’s departure, anti-regime forces have uncovered mass graves and liberated prisons the place tens of hundreds had been tortured or arbitrarily detained.
These discoveries make clear the estimated 100,000 people who died or disappeared in custody since 2011.
Source: www.dailysabah.com