DAMASCUS: Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, declared Sunday that the state would take custody of all weapons in the country, including those possessed by Kurdish-led forces, two weeks after taking control in a broad offensive.
Following an earlier meeting with Lebanese Druze leaders, when he pledged to stop “negative interference” in neighboring Lebanon, he was speaking alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Sharaa stated that Syria’s armed “factions will begin to announce their dissolution and enter” the army during a press conference with Fidan.
In reference to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, he continued, “We will absolutely not allow there to be weapons in the country outside state control, whether from the revolutionary factions or the factions present in the SDF area.”
claims that his government is safeguarding minorities and sects and promises to stop meddling in Lebanon.
The Islamist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led by Sharaa, formed a rebel coalition and took control of Damascus on December 8 with the help of militants backed by Ankara. During his meetings at the presidential palace on Sunday, Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, had switched from the olive-green military shirt he wore a few days prior to a suit and tie.
Additionally, he stated that “we are working on protecting sects and minorities from any attacks that occur between them” as well as from “external” actors who would take advantage of the circumstances “to cause sectarian discord.”
He continued by saying, “Syria is a country for all and we can coexist together.”
Sanctions against Syria must “be lifted as soon as possible,” according to Fidan. “To help Syria get back on its feet and for the displaced people to return,” he urged the international community.
Turkiye has remained close to Syria’s new rulers, and Ibrahim Kalin, the head of Ankara’s intelligence services, visited Damascus four days after Assad’s overthrow.
Meanwhile, Ankara has persisted in its attacks on Kurdish-held regions in northeastern Syria; on Saturday, a British war monitor reported that five people had been killed by a Turkish drone strike in the region.
The main SDF component, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), are seen by Ankara as having ties to the domestic militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is considered a “terrorist” organization by both Turkiye and its Western allies.
Saudi Arabia, a regional heavyweight that has backed the opposition against Assad for years during Syria’s civil war, is also in close communication with the country’s new government. Syria’s envoy in the Saudi capital stated that a group from Riyadh will visit the nation shortly.
Walid and Taymur Jumblatt, two visiting Druze chiefs from Lebanon, met with Sharaa, who declared that Syria would no longer engage in “negative interference in Lebanon at all.”
Although HTS has attempted to tone down its rhetoric in recent years, the Sunni Islamists’ takeover of power has raised concerns because the group is banned as a terrorist organization by numerous governments, including the US.
Despite concerns about Syria’s future, international organizations like the US and the EU have increased communication with the country’s new authorities, pleading with them to ensure rights for minorities and women.
Iran’s supreme leader, who was a key supporter of Assad’s government prior to its overthrow, foresaw on Sunday “the emergence of a strong, honorable group” that would oppose “insecurity” in Syria.
Syria’s youth would “stand with strength and determination against those who have designed this insecurity and those who have implemented it, and God willing, he will overcome them,” according to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
