The deposed president also denied having planned his departure for Russia just over a week ago, after a lightning offensive led by the Islamist movement Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) took Damascus
Deposed president Bashar al Assad said this Monday (17), in his first statements since fleeing , that the country’s new leaders are “terrorists”. He also denied having planned his departure for Russia just over a week ago, after a lightning offensive led by the Islamist movement Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) took Damascus, ending an 11-day action.
The collapse of the regime surprised the world and sparked celebrations in Syria and in many countries with large communities of Syrians exiled since the start of the civil war, triggered by the violent repression of pro-democracy protests in 2011. “My departure from Syria was not planned , nor did it happen in the last hours of the battle, contrary to what certain allegations say,” Assad said in a statement in English released by Telegram.
“On the contrary, I stayed in Damascus, doing my duty until dawn” on Sunday, December 8, he declared. Assad explained that, given the advance of the insurgents towards the capital, he moved to Latakia, on the Mediterranean coast, “in coordination” with Russia, one of his allies in the conflict, to “supervise combat operations”.
“Moscow asked […] immediate evacuation to on Sunday night”, Assad detailed, adding that his country was now “in the hands of terrorists”. The group, which was a Syrian branch of Al Qaeda, claims to have severed its links with jihadism, but continues to be classified as “terrorist” by several Western governments, including Washington and London.
“Reliable and inclusive” transition
After an initial cautious reaction, Western foreign ministries intensified efforts over the weekend to establish contact with the new Syrian leaders, including Abu Mohammed al Jolani, leader of HTS. “We cannot leave a vacuum,” said the head of European Union (EU) diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, before a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers.
He also stated that the EU will discuss with the new authorities Russia’s military presence and influence on its territory. In this sense, several European ministers pointed out that “it should be a condition for the new leaders to eliminate Russia’s influence”, Kallas added.
The UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, met on Sunday in Damascus with Jolani and reiterated the need for a “trustworthy and inclusive” transition, according to his advisers.
The United Kingdom and the United States have also established “diplomatic contacts” with HTS. Turkey, a major player in the conflict and a supporter of the new Syrian authorities, reopened its embassy in Damascus on Saturday and expressed its willingness to provide military aid.
“We need peace”
Several countries and organizations celebrated the fall of Assad, but said they would wait to see how the new Sunni Muslim authorities would treat ethnic and religious minorities. After 50 years of rule by the Assad clan and a relentless repression of any opponent or suspected opponent, the new rulers are trying to reassure the international community.
The new prime minister in charge of the transition until March 1, Mohammed al Bashir, promised to “guarantee the rights of all”. In Latakia, Syria’s second largest port on the Mediterranean, hundreds of men and some women, members of the former government forces, lined up on Monday in front of the facilities where the new authorities asked them to lay down their weapons and register.
According to the person responsible for the site, Mohammed Mustapha, 26 years old and a former soldier in the rebel stronghold of Idlib, 400 people showed up on Sunday for the opening of the center. “We expect at least a thousand today,” he said, estimating that “at least 10,000 former soldiers and police officers” should “present themselves” in this province, a stronghold of the Alawite minority, where former president Assad comes from. Almost 14 years of civil war caused by the repression of pro-democracy protests in Syria have left half a million dead and six million exiled abroad.
Israeli attacks
Israel on Sunday carried out intense attacks against military installations in the coastal region of Tartus, including air defense units and “surface-to-surface missile depots”, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH). The Israeli government also approved on Sunday a project by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to double the population of its settlements in the Golan Heights, territory conquered by Israel during the 1967 war and annexed in 1981.
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
Posted by Carolina Ferreira
