Damascus, Syria – The UN envoy to Syria called on Wednesday for “free and fair” elections after the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad, voicing hope for a political solution for Kurdish-held areas.
Assad fled Syria following a lightning offensive spearheaded by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), more than 13 years after his crackdown on democracy protests precipitated one of the deadliest wars of the century.
He left behind a country scarred by decades of torture, disappearances and summary executions, and the collapse of his rule on December 8 stunned the world and sparked celebrations around Syria and beyond.
Years of civil war have also left the country heavily dependent on aid, deeply fragmented and desperate for justice and peace.
Addressing reporters in Damascus, UN special envoy Geir Pedersen said “there is a lot of hope that we can now see the beginning of a new Syria”.
“A new Syria that… will adopt a new constitution… and that we will have free and fair elections when that time comes, after a transitional period,” he said.
Calling for immediate humanitarian assistance, he also said he hoped to see an end to international sanctions levied against Syria over Assad’s abuses.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called for a massive aid boost by donor countries to respond to “this moment of hope” for Syria.
“Across the country, the needs are huge. Seven in 10 people are needing support right now,” Fletcher told AFP in a telephone interview as he visited Syria.
Challenge in Kurdish-held regions
Pedersen said a key challenge was the situation in Kurdish-held areas in Syria’s northeast, amid fears of a major escalation between the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Turkey-backed groups.
Turkey accuses the main component of the SDF, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), of being affiliated with Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants at home, whom both Washington and Ankara consider a “terrorist” group.
The United States said Tuesday it had brokered an extension to a fragile ceasefire in the flashpoint town of Manbij and was seeking a broader understanding with Turkey.
But later on Wednesday, a Syria war monitor said 21 pro-Turkey fighters had been killed after they attacked a Kurdish-held position near Manbij despite the ceasefire extension.
“At least 21 members of pro-Turkey factions were killed and others wounded by fire from the Manbij Military Council after pro-Turkey factions attacked” a position at the Tishreen Dam, some 25 kilometres (15 miles) from Manbij, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The Manbij Military Council is affiliated with the SDF.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan later warned Syria’s new rulers to address the issue of Kurdish forces in the country.
He was responding to a question on Al Jazeera about rumours that Turkey could launch an offensive on the Kurdish-held border town of Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab.
“There is a new administration in Damascus now. I think, this is primarily their concern now,” he said.
“So, I think if they are going to, if they address this issue properly, so there would be no reason for us to intervene.”
He rejected US President-elect Donald Trump’s claim that the ouster of Assad amounted to an “unfriendly takeover” of Syria by Ankara.
‘We want to know’
Rooted in Syria’s branch of Al-Qaeda and proscribed as a terrorist organisation by several Western governments, HTS has sought to moderate its rhetoric by assuring protection for the country’s many religious and ethnic minorities.
It has appointed a transitional leadership that will run the country until March 1.
Fidan said in his interview that it was time for the international community to take HTS off its terror watchlists.
HTS has vowed justice for the crimes committed under Assad’s rule, including the disappearance of tens of thousands of people into the complex web of detention centres and prisons that was used for decades to silence dissent.
“We want to know where our children are, our brothers,” said 55-year-old Ziad Alaywi, standing by a ditch near the town of Najha, southeast of Damascus.
It is one of the locations where Syrians believe the bodies of prisoners tortured to death were buried — acts that international organisations say could constitute crimes against humanity.
“Were they killed? Are they buried here?” he asked.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 100,000 people died or were killed in custody from 2011.
‘Direct engagement’
The country’s new rulers have sought to keep its institutions going and, on Wednesday, a commercial flight took off from Damascus airport to Aleppo, the first since Assad was toppled and fled to Russia.
They have also stepped up contacts with countries that had long seen Assad as a pariah, and with international institutions.
EU chief Ursula Von der Leyen said the bloc would intensify its “direct engagement” with the new administration.
Israel hits port, energy sites in Yemen
Israel said Thursday it struck ports and energy infrastructure used by Huthi rebels in Yemen after intercepting a missile fired from the country, warning Huthi leaders it “will reach you too.”
Huthi media said the strikes hit power stations, oil facilities and the port of Hodaidah, causing deaths and injuries, without giving further details.
The strikes came after the interception of a missile fired by Huthi rebels towards Israel. The group has regularly targeted Israel over its military operation in Gaza.
Israel’s military said it “conducted precise strikes on Huthi military targets in Yemen — including ports and energy infrastructure in Sanaa, which the Huthis have been using in ways that effectively contributed to their military actions.”
“I warn the leaders of the Huthi terrorist organization: Israel’s long arm will reach you too,” Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said.
Al-Masira, a media channel belonging to the Huthis, said a series of “aggressive raids” were launched in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa and the port city of Hodeidah.
It reported raids that “targeted two central power plants” in and around Yemen’s capital Sanaa, while in Hodeidah it said “the enemy launched four aggressive raids targeting the port… and two raids targeting” an oil facility.
It said there were casualties at the oil facility without giving further details.
The strikes came after Israel’s military intercepted a missile from Yemen for the second time this week.
On Monday, the Huthis claimed a missile launch they said was aimed at “a military target of the Israeli enemy in the occupied area of Yaffa” — a reference to Israel’s Tel Aviv area.
Also Monday, an Israeli navy missile boat intercepted a drone in the Mediterranean after it was launched from Yemen, the military said.
The Huthi rebels have said they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians and pledged Monday to continue operations “until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege is lifted”.
On December 9, a drone claimed by Huthis exploded on the top floor of a residential building in the central Israel city of Yavne, causing no casualties.
In July, a Huthi drone attack in Tel Aviv killed an Israeli civilian, prompting retaliatory strikes on the Yemeni port of Hodeidah.
The Huthis have also regularly targeted shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, leading to retaliatory strikes on Huthi targets by United States and sometimes British forces.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the group had become a “global threat,” pointing to Iran’s support for the rebels.
“We will continue to act against anyone, anyone in the Middle East, that threatens the state of Israel,” he said.
’21 pro-Turkey fighters killed’
A Syria war monitor said 21 pro-Turkey fighters were killed Wednesday after they attacked a Kurdish-held position near a flashpoint northern town despite a US-brokered ceasefire extension in the area.
The fighting between Turkish-backed factions and US-backed Kurdish-led forces comes more than a week after Islamist-led rebels toppled Syria’s longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad.
“At least 21 members of pro-Turkey factions were killed and others wounded by fire from the Manbij Military Council after pro-Turkey factions attacked” a position at the Tishreen Dam, some 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the town of Manbij, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The United States said on Tuesday it had brokered an extension to a fragile ceasefire in Manbij and was seeking a broader understanding with Turkey.
The Britain-based Observatory, which has a network of sources inside Syria, said Wednesday’s attack included “support from Turkish reconnaissance aircraft” and was followed by “heavy clashes with heavy and medium weapons”.
The monitor also reported unspecified casualties among the Manbij Military Council, which is affiliated with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, as well as among SDF fighters.
The SDF said in a statement that its forces “successfully repelled” the pro-Turkey fighters and that “after thwarting the attacks, Manbij Military Council forces initiated a combing operation in the vicinity of the Tishreen Dam and the surrounding area”.
Swathes of north and northeast Syria are controlled by a Kurdish administration whose de facto army, the SDF, spearheaded the fight that defeated Islamic State group jihadists in Syria in 2019.
Kobane
Turkey accuses the main component of the SDF, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), of being affiliated with Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants at home, whom both Washington and Ankara consider a “terrorist” group.
Ankara has staged multiple operations against the SDF since 2016, and Turkish-backed groups have captured several Kurdish-held towns in the north in recent weeks.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Tuesday that the Manbij truce, which had recently expired, had been “extended through the end of the week, and we will, obviously, look to see that ceasefire extended as far as possible into the future”.
The extension comes amid fears of an assault by Turkey on the Kurdish-held border town of Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) northeast of Manbij.
SDF leader Mazloum Abdi on Tuesday proposed a “demilitarised zone” in Kobane.
The military chief of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamist rebel group that led the offensive that ousted Assad, said Tuesday that Kurdish-held areas of Syria would be integrated under the country’s new leadership.
While the Kurdish administration has extended a hand to the new authorities, the long-oppressed community fears it could lose hard-won gains it made during the war, including limited self-rule.