In the context of transition, in a country destroyed by 13 years of devastating war, Chareh stated that the “armed factions [iriam] begin announcing its disbandment and joining the army.
Two weeks after having the new Syrian leader, Ahmad al-Chareh, announced this Sunday that all weapons in the country will be controlled by the State.
Ahmad al-Chareh was speaking in Damascus, alongside the head of Turkish diplomacy, Hakan Fidan, after receiving a delegation from Lebanon, with which he pledged to put an end to Syria’s “negative” influence in the neighboring country.
On December 8, a coalition of rebels, led by the radical Islamic group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), directed by Chareh and supported by Turkey, entered Damascus and announced the overthrow of the government, following a lightning offensive that allowed it to conquer a large part of the country in 11 days.
Bashar al-Assad, who ruled Syria with an iron fist for 24 years, was abandoned by his Iranian and Russian allies and fled to Moscow, marking the end of more than 50 years of rule by the Assad family.
In the context of transition, in a country destroyed by 13 years of devastating war, Chareh stated that the “armed factions [iriam] begin announcing its disbandment and joining the army.
“We will in no way allow weapons to escape State control […]whether they come from revolutionary factions or factions present in the FDS area [Forças Democráticas Sírias, dominadas pelos curdos]”, he added.
The Washington-backed FDS is seen by Ankara as an extension of its arch-enemy, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
This Sunday, there were clashes between the protesting factions and the FDS, in the area of the Tichrine dam, on the Euphrates, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The non-governmental organization also reported the death of a woman and her son following “artillery shelling by pro-Turkish factions” on the outskirts of Kobane (north).
Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad, who had presented himself as the protector of minorities in a predominantly Sunni country, the new authorities are being scrutinized for how they will treat minorities.
Ahmad al-Chareh received Lebanese Druze leader Walid Joumblatt in Damascus, in his first meeting with a leader from this neighboring country, which has suffered for decades from the interference of the Assad clan, responsible for numerous murders.
Syria will not again “interfere negatively in Lebanon and will respect Lebanese sovereignty”, assured Ahmad al-Chareh, who called on the Lebanese to “erase from their memory the memory of the former Syria in Lebanon”.
Joumblatt led a vast delegation of deputies from his parliamentary bloc, including his son Taymour, who succeeded him as leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, and religious dignitaries from the Druze minority, an esoteric sect of Islam spread across Lebanon, Syria and Israel.
Since Assad’s overthrow, diplomats from several countries have gone to Damascus to meet with the new authorities.
On Friday, Washington withdrew its offer of a reward for the detention of the new Syrian leader, but HTS continues to be classified as “terrorist” by several Western countries.
