During the five decades of rule by the Assad family, Syria was one of the most repressive police states in the Middle East.
The top commander of rebel fighters who ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Wednesday he would disband the former regime’s security forces, close its infamous prisons and track down anyone involved in torturing or killing prisoners. He also ruled out pardoning them, reports TASR with reference to the Reuters agency.
During the five decades of rule by the Assad family, Syria was one of the most repressive police states in the Middle East. Ahmad Shara, whose once al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group is now the most powerful force in the country, must strike a balance between demands for justice and the need to prevent violent reprisals. At the same time, he must try to stabilize Syria and get international help after a 13-year civil war.
Shara, also known as Abu Muhammad Jawlani, also said in a statement provided to Reuters that he was closely monitoring reports of possible chemical weapons stockpiles and was coordinating their seizure with international organizations. HTS has already announced that it will not use these weapons under any circumstances.
In addition, Šara reiterated that he would create a government of technocrats. The current transitional government, with ministers who until now led the rebel enclave in northwestern Syria, is supposed to rule the country until March 2025.
Assad’s Baath Party announced on Wednesday that it had suspended all work and activities indefinitely. In a statement on its website, it said it would hand over all its property, vehicles and weapons in its possession to the Interior Ministry.
“All properties and finances are placed under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance… and the proceeds from them are deposited in the Syrian Central Bank to be spent in accordance with the law by the current government,” DPA quoted the statement as saying.
