CV YouTube
The leader of the HTS rebels, Ahmad al-Charaa, who seized power from Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
The US suspended the prize for the “head” of Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the nom de guerre of the leader of the HTS rebels, Ahmad al-Charaa, who took power from Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
Abu Mohammad al-Jolani is one of the names on US “black list” as a “terrorist”. But the US State Department for the Middle East suspended the reward of 9.5 million euros by the “head” of the man who became the .
The decision was taken after a “positive” meeting in Damascusthe Syrian capital, between a North American delegation and Ahmad al-Charaa, the new “pragmatic” leader of Syria, as already defined after having abandoned the nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani.
Al-Charaa is the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Islamic radical group who led the rebel coalition that last December 8.
This rebel coalition is classified as “terrorist” by several countries, including the United States.
But for now, there is a sign of hope led by Al-Charaa and the head of the US State Department for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf, revealed that the US will not “move forward with the offer of rewards for justice, which has been in place for several years”, for Syrian leader.
“Results will be positive, God willing”
The first contact between Washington and the new Syrian authorities since the start of the country’s civil war in 2011 was described to the French news agency AFP as “positive” by a Syrian official.
“The results will be positive, God willing”the Syrian official told AFP, on condition of anonymity.
A North American official also described the meeting as “good and useful” in statements to the Syrian daily Al-Watan.
On December 14th, senior representatives from the USA, France, Turkey and eight Arab countries, as well as the United Nations and the European Union (EU), participated in a meeting called by Jordanian King Abdullah II to reach agreement on a unified position on Syria post-Bashar al-Assad.
The talks in Damascus focused on “the principles agreed by the United States and its partners in Aqaba” in Jordan, namely “support for a inclusive political processled by Syria, that results in a representative government that respect the rights of all Syrians“, the US embassy in Syria said on the social network X.
“Regional events, Syria’s intention to adopt a good neighbor policy and the importance of joint efforts in the fight against terrorism” were also discussed, according to the embassy.
US willing to lift economic sanctions
Leaf also met with members of civil society in Damascus, “to hear firsthand their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help,” the embassy also reported.
The United States said on Tuesday it was willing to lift economic sanctions that they imposed on for years.
The delegation will also request information about the destination of US citizens disappeared during the old regime.
The USA followed the same position as France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the UN, which had already sent diplomats to Damascus to establish contacts with the country’s new authorities, aware of the risk of fragmentation and the resurgence of the radical group Islamic Statewhich has never been completely eradicated in Syria.
Rebels guarantee distancing from Islamic radicalism
On Thursday, hundreds of people demonstrated in Damascus in favor of democracy and of women’s rights not country.
At the same time, thousands of people demonstrated in Qamichli, in the northeast of the country, in support for Kurdish forces who try to repel the offensives of fighters supported by Türkiye, an ally of the new Syrian power.
A Kurdish community fears losing limited autonomy which he conquered since the beginning of the civil war that left more than half a million dead and caused a wave of six million refugees.
HTS, a former Syrian branch of , claimed to have away from Islamic radicalism and seeks to reassure the population at a time when, according to the UN, the country urgently needs humanitarian aid.
Al-Sharaa has shown signs of moderation in interviews with various international bodies, highlighting that the country is “fed up with war” and that does not constitute “a threat to the world”.
In an interview with the BBC, where he appears in civilian clothes, he assured that believes in education for womenhighlighting the numbers that reveal that they are in the majority in University Education in some areas of Syria.
However, he tried to emphasize that it is not up to him to define a new Constitution for the country, stressing that this document will define the Law to be applied in Syria.
The population remains fearful and the world also fears that Syria’s new leaders will assume a hardline Islamic governanceas happened with the Taliban in .
Call for ceasefire between Turks and Syrian Kurds
The American diplomat also called for a ceasefire between pro-Turkish fighters and Syrian Kurds on the outskirts of emblematic city of Kobanein northern Syria, and said it was working to find a “managed transition” to the role of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led armed alliance.
“We are working energetically on discussions with the Turkish authorities and the SDF. We believe that the best solution is a ceasefire around Kobane”, highlighted Leaf.
The Kurds, whose main supporter is the USAestablished an autonomous administration in northeast Syria, which has been the scene of offensives by Turkey, which considers the Kurdish factions to be “terrorists” due to their links with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) armed group.
“We have discussed with our Kurdish partners and what I have heard consistently is that the Syrians want all Syrian communities consider themselves Syrians“, says the North American diplomat.
