Mainstream media has already begun referring to Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former member of al-Qaeda and the previous al-Qaeda-affiliate group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), because the de facto leader of Syria.
Representing the European Union, German and French international ministers made a go to to Damascus to satisfy Ahmed al-Sharaa following the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad.
The ministers expressed cautious optimism whereas urging the brand new Islamist-led management to uphold the rights of minorities, together with Christians, Druze, Jews, Kurds, and Alawites.
Their journey indicators a possible shift in worldwide relations with Syria and hints at the potential for normalizing ties with the nation’s new rulers.
The brand new authorities has met with minority group representatives, providing assurances of safety, however skepticism stays excessive, significantly among the many Kurds.
Considerations stem from HTS’s extremist roots, ongoing battle, and the absence of comparable ensures from the Syrian Nationwide Military (SNA), one other main Islamist faction seen as a proxy for Ankara.
Turkey has additionally failed to supply such assurances, additional deepening distrust. Assaults on minorities exacerbate these fears. On December 25, 1000’s protested throughout Syria after a video surfaced displaying an assault on an Alawite shrine within the north.
The arson of a Christmas tree in Al-Suqaylabiyah, north of Hama, highlights the precarious scenario for Christians and different minority communities.
Turkey continues its assaults on Kurds and helps militia operations, additional endangering displaced minorities sheltering in Kurdish-controlled areas.
In late December, a mission crew chief from Free Burma Rangers (FBR), a faith-based support group, reported from close to Kobani, the place Turkish-supported militias had focused a grain depot the day before today.
The assault destroyed important meals provides important to sustaining internally displaced folks (IDPs) within the area. Highlighting the aftermath, the crew chief described broken grain piles and storage areas, emphasizing the devastating influence on already scarce assets within the space.
The battle between Turkish-backed Islamist teams just like the Syrian Nationwide Military (SNA) and the Kurds has left deep scars, rooted in an extended historical past of abuse and rigidity.
Human rights organizations, together with Syrians for Truth and Justice, are demanding the speedy and unconditional launch of detainees held by the SNA in Afrin, Ras al-Ain/Serê Kaniyê, and Inform Abyad/Girê Spî.
Many of those detainees, predominantly Kurdish, have suffered arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, and torture for the reason that SNA seized management of those areas throughout Turkey’s “Olive Department” and “Peace Spring” operations in 2018 and 2019.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have launched a counter-offensive to reclaim territory close to Syria’s northern border from the Turkish-backed Syrian Nationwide Military (SNA). A key U.S. ally, the SDF, identified for combating Islamic State (IS) sleeper cells, now faces mounting challenges from Turkish-backed forces.
SDF spokesperson Ruken Jamal reported their fighters are advancing towards Manbij, a former SDF stronghold and protected zone for minorities, lately captured by the SNA.
With forces simply 7 miles from town’s heart, Jamal accused Turkey of exploiting the battle to decrease Kurdish affect in Syria’s political future.
Regardless of Turkish airstrikes on cities like Kobani, the SDF has reclaimed a number of villages close to the strategic Tishrin Dam, a significant hydroelectric useful resource.
Ankara views the SDF as an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which it designates a terrorist group. Turkish forces and jets have focused SDF positions throughout northern Syria for years, searching for to determine a buffer zone.
The SNA, which performed a task in Assad’s overthrow alongside Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), continues its marketing campaign in opposition to the SDF, complicating the area’s stability.
The battle has left infrastructure in ruins, with water, electrical energy, and primary provides scarce. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported heavy casualties on either side for the reason that SNA’s offensive started.
SDF Commander Mazloum Abdi expressed considerations a few potential resurgence of ISIS as a result of ongoing combating, which limits the SDF’s capability to focus on extremist sleeper cells. Hundreds of IS militants and their households stay detained in SDF-controlled areas, including to regional instability.
Regardless of the elimination of Assad, Turkey’s stance on the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) remains unchanged, and tensions proceed to rise. The ruling Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has opened dialogue with the SDF however underneath stringent phrases.
In an interview with Al Arabiya, Ahmed al-Sharaa acknowledged that the SDF must be built-in into the newly fashioned nationwide military, emphasizing, “Weapons should only be underneath the management of the state.
We’re open to welcoming anybody armed and certified into the protection ministry.” He additional added that negotiations with the SDF would solely proceed underneath these circumstances, hinting at restricted flexibility: “Under these terms and circumstances, we are going to open a dialogue… to maybe discover an acceptable resolution.”
The SDF is unlikely to comply with disarm or combine right into a federal military, significantly if it includes relinquishing its managed territories. In the meantime, the rise of teams like HTS and the Syrian Nationwide Military (SNA), coupled with Turkey’s continued interference, dangers empowering extremist factions and destabilizing the area.
These developments pose vital threats to U.S. pursuits and the protection of minority communities in northeastern Syria. Because the scenario worsens, requires U.S. intervention—starting from army support to sanctions against Turkey—are intensifying.
