DAMASCUS: With the support of the erstwhile rebels who overthrew President Bashar Al Assad three days ago, Syria’s interim leader declared on Tuesday that he will assume leadership of the nation as caretaker prime minister.
Mohammed Al Bashir, who is not well-known throughout most of Syria and who previously oversaw an administration in a tiny region of the northwest, stated in a brief statement on state television that he will serve as the head of the interim government until March 1.
Despite fierce Israeli airstrikes against Syrian army bases, which vanished in the face of the rapid advance that overthrew Bashar Al Assad, the normalization efforts proceeded.
Israel, which has dispatched troops into a demilitarized area inside Syria, admitted on Tuesday that troops had also established some posts outside the buffer zone, but denied that they were moving in the direction of Damascus. It launched airstrikes against Syrian army bases that have since been disbanded.
According to Israel’s defense minister, he has directed the establishment of a “sterile defensive zone” in southern Syria “to protect Israel.”
The Israelis had moved outside the demilitarized zone on Tuesday, according to three security sources. Additionally, according to a Syrian source, the Israelis had arrived in the village of Qatana, which is a short drive from Damascus airport and several kilometers east of the buffer zone.
“Today we held a cabinet meeting that included a team from the Salvation government that was working in Idlib and its vicinity, as well as the government of the ousted regime,” Mohammed Al Bashir stated in his speech.
“Transferring the files and institutions to the caretaker government was the main topic of the meeting.” Behind him were two flags: a white banner with the Islamic oath of faith (Kalma) written in black and the green, black, and white flag that Bashar Al Assad’s opponents had flown during the civil war.
Bashir was trained as an electrical engineer, went on to get degrees in Sharia and law, and held a number of positions in fields including education, according to a Facebook page.
For the first time since Assad’s overthrow, banks reopened in the Syrian capital. Street cleaners were out sweeping the streets, shops reopened, traffic resumed, and construction workers were back repairing a roundabout in the heart of Damascus.
The number of armed guys on the streets had significantly decreased. According to two people close to the anti-Assad rebels, their command had given the order for them to leave towns and for internal security personnel and police connected to the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) group to set up shop there.
The anti-Assad uprising was spearheaded by the HTS, a former Al Qaeda offshoot.
Israeli activity
Although Tel Aviv maintains that its engagement is only temporary, Israel’s invasion of the southwest region of Syria and its airstrikes on previous army posts present the new government with yet another security challenge.
In what appears to be the first official Israeli recognition that they have crossed the buffer zone, military spokesperson Nadav Shoshani stated that Israeli troops were in the buffer zone and “a few additional points” nearby. However, there had not been a major push into Syria, he claimed.
“We are not a party to this conflict, we are not involved in what is going on internally in Syria, and our only interest is in securing our borders and the safety of our people,” Shoshani declared.
The defense minister, Israel Katz, asserted that Syria’s fleet had been destroyed by Israel’s navy.
Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday morning were the most intense ever, according to regional security sources and officials in the now-defunct Syrian army. The raids destroyed scores of helicopters and jets and struck military institutions and air bases around Syria.
The Israeli incursion has been denounced by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey.
With refugees starting to return to a country they had not seen in years, the atmosphere in Damascus remained joyous. 42-year-old Anas Idrees, who has been a refugee since the civil conflict started in 2011, rushed from Lebanon to Syria in support of the overthrow of the Assad government.
After arranging for his family to accompany him, he went to a well-known ice cream shop in the opulent Hamidiyeh Souk in ancient Damascus and requested a big scoop of the establishment’s famous Arabic gelato with mastic. Pistachio-covered, a hearty mound costs $1 a bowl. After he took a spoonful, he declared, “I swear to God, it tastes different now.” “It was good before, but now that we are happy on the inside, it has changed.”
Bakdash, the store’s regular patrons, concurred that something felt different. Twentysomething business student Eman Ghazal declared, “It’s delicious and has gotten even better.”
