DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s prime minister mentioned Monday that almost all Cupboard ministers are nonetheless working from places of work in Damascus after rebels entered the capital over the weekend and overthrew President Bashar Assad. Streams of refugees crossed in from neighboring nations, hoping for a extra peaceable future.
However there have been already indicators of the difficulties forward for the insurgent alliance now in charge of a lot of the nation, which is led by a former senior al-Qaida militant who severed ties with the extremist group years in the past and has promised consultant authorities and spiritual tolerance.
Israel mentioned it’s finishing up airstrikes on suspected chemical weapons websites and long-range rockets to maintain them from falling into the palms of extremists. Israel has additionally seized a buffer zone inside Syria after Syrian troops withdrew.
In northern Syria, Turkey mentioned allied opposition forces seized the city of Manbij from Kurdish-led forces backed by the US, a reminder that even after Assad’s departure to Russia the nation stays break up amongst armed teams which have fought up to now.
The Kremlin mentioned Russia has granted political asylum to Assad, a choice made by President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to touch upon Assad’s particular whereabouts and mentioned Putin was not planning to fulfill with him.
Damascus was quiet on Monday, with life slowly returning to regular whereas most outlets and public establishments have been closed. In public squares, some individuals have been nonetheless celebrating. Civilian visitors resumed however there was no public transport. Lengthy strains fashioned in entrance of bakeries and different meals shops.
There was little signal of any safety presence, and Related Press reporters noticed a couple of SUVs on the facet of a most important boulevard that appeared to have been damaged into.
In some areas, small teams of armed males have been stationed within the streets. A video circulating on-line confirmed a person in navy fatigues holding a rifle trying to reassure residents of the Mezzeh neighborhood in Damascus that they might not be harmed.
“We have now nothing towards you, neither Alawite, nor Christian, nor Shiite, nor Druze, however everybody should behave effectively, and nobody ought to attempt to assault us,” the fighter mentioned.
Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali, who remained in his put up after Assad and most of his prime officers vanished over the weekend, has sought to mission normalcy.
“We’re working in order that the transitional interval is fast and easy,” he informed Sky Information Arabia TV on Monday, saying the safety state of affairs had already improved from the day earlier than.
He mentioned the federal government is coordinating with the insurgents, and that he’s prepared to fulfill insurgent chief Ahmad al-Sharaa, previously often known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, who made a triumphal look at a famed Damascus mosque on Sunday.
Syrians who solely days in the past have been working in any respect ranges of the forms in Assad’s authorities have been adjusting to the brand new actuality.
On the courtroom of Justice in Damascus, which was stormed by the rebels to free detainees, Decide Khitam Haddad, an aide to the justice minister within the outgoing authorities, mentioned Sunday that judges have been able to resume work shortly.
“We need to give everybody their rights,” Haddad mentioned outdoors the courthouse. “We need to construct a brand new Syria and to maintain the work, however with new strategies.”
In the meantime, a Syrian opposition struggle monitor mentioned a prime aide to Assad’s brother, Maher, was discovered lifeless in his workplace close to Damascus. A video that circulated on social media purportedly confirmed Maj. Gen. Ali Mahmoud lined with blood and along with his garments burned. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights mentioned it was not clear if he was killed or died by suicide.
Maher Assad led the military’s 4th Armored Division, which performed a serious function within the civil struggle that erupted in 2011, after a preferred rebellion towards Assad led to a violent crackdown on dissent and the rise of an insurgency.
Israelis have welcomed the autumn of Assad, who was a key ally of Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, whereas expressing concern over what comes subsequent. Israel says its forces quickly seized a buffer zone inside Syria courting again to a 1974 settlement after Syrian troops withdrew within the chaos.
“The one curiosity now we have is the safety of Israel and its residents,” Israeli Overseas Minister Gideon Saar informed reporters on Monday. “That’s why we attacked strategic weapons methods, like, for instance, remaining chemical weapons, or long-range missiles and rockets, so that they won’t fall within the palms of extremists.”
Saar didn’t present particulars about when or the place the strikes passed off.
An AP journalist in Damascus reported airstrikes within the space of the Mezzeh navy airport, southwest of the capital, on Sunday. The airport has beforehand been focused in Israeli airstrikes. Strikes have been additionally heard within the capital on Monday.
Israel has carried out a whole bunch of airstrikes in Syria lately, concentrating on what it says are navy websites associated to Iran and Hezbollah. Israeli officers not often touch upon particular person strikes.
Syria agreed to surrender its chemical weapons stockpile in 2013, after the federal government was accused of launching an assault close to Damascus that killed a whole bunch of individuals. However it’s extensively believed to have saved among the weapons and was accused of utilizing them once more in subsequent years.
Officers in Turkey, which is the principle supporter of the Syrian opposition to Assad, say its allies have taken full management of the northern Syrian metropolis of Manbij from a U.S.-supported and Kurdish-led drive often known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF.
The SDF mentioned a Turkish drone struck within the village of al-Mistriha in japanese Syria, killing 12 civilians, together with six kids.
Turkey views the SDF, which is primarily composed of a Syrian Kurdish militia, as an extension of the banned Kurdistan Staff’ Get together, or PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency in Turkey. The SDF has additionally been a key ally of the US within the struggle towards the Islamic State group.
Turkish Overseas Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday expressed hope for a brand new period in Syria by which ethnic and spiritual teams can reside peacefully beneath an inclusive authorities. However he warned towards permitting Islamic State or Kurdish fighters to benefit from the state of affairs, saying Turkey will forestall Syria from turning right into a “haven for terrorism.”
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Mroue reported from Beirut and Goldenberg from Tel Aviv, Israel. Related Press author Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report.
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Comply with the AP’s Syria protection at https://apnews.com/hub/syria
