DAMASCUS: Syria’s interim government signed a deal Monday with the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast, including a ceasefire and the merging of the main US-backed force there into the Syrian army.
The deal is a major breakthrough that would bring most of Syria under the control of the government, which is led by the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham group that led the ouster of President Bashar Assad in December.
The deal was signed by interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
The deal to be implemented by the end of the year would bring all border crossings with Iraq and Turkiye, airports and oil fields in the northeast under the central government’s control. Prisons where about 9,000 suspected members of the Daesh group are also expected to come under government control.
Syria’s Kurds will gain their “constitutional rights” including using and teaching their language, which were banned for decades under Assad. Hundreds of thousands of Kurds who were displaced during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war will return to their homes.
The deal also says all Syrians will be part of the political process, no matter their religion or ethnicity.
Syria’s new rulers are struggling to exert their authority across the country and reach political settlements with other minority communities, notably the Druze in southern Syria.
Earlier Monday, Syria’s government announced the end of the military operation against insurgents loyal to Assad and his family in the worst fighting since the end of the civil war.
The Defense Ministry’s announcement came after a surprise attack by gunmen from the Alawite community on a police patrol near the port city of Latakia on Thursday spiraled into widespread clashes across Syria’s coastal region. The Assad family are Alawites.
“To the remaining remnants of the defeated regime and its fleeing officers, our message is clear and explicit,” said Defense Ministry spokesperson Col. Hassan Abdel-Ghani. “If you return, we will also return, and you will find before you men who do not know how to retreat and who will not have mercy on those whose hands are stained with the blood of the innocent.”
Abdel-Ghani said security forces will continue searching for sleeper cells and remnants of the insurgency of former government loyalists.
Though the government’s counter-offensive was able to largely contain the insurgency, footage surfaced of what appeared to be retaliatory attacks targeting the broader minority Alawite community, an offshoot of Shia Islam whose adherents live mainly in the western coastal region.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said 1,130 people were killed in the clashes, including 830 civilians. The Associated Press could not independently verify these numbers.
Al-Sharaa said the retaliatory attacks against Alawite civilians and mistreatment of prisoners were isolated incidents, and vowed to crack down on the perpetrators as he formed a committee to investigate.
Still, the events alarmed Western governments, who have been urged to lift economic sanctions on Syria.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement Sunday urged Syrian authorities to “hold the perpetrators of these massacres” accountable. Rubio said the US “stands with Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities, including its Christian, Druze, Alawite, and Kurdish communities.”
Syria’s government signs breakthrough deal with Kurdish-led authorities in northeast
https://arab.news/rge9w
Syria’s government signs breakthrough deal with Kurdish-led authorities in northeast
- Deal is a major breakthrough that would bring most of Syria under the control of the government
- The deal will bring all border crossings with Iraq and Turkiye, airports and oil fields in the northeast under the central government’s control
Year after Assad’s downfall, Syrians shows strong support for Al-Sharaa
- Survey finds Syrians are hopeful for the future, back the government’s progress following Assad’s demise
- Saudi Arabia is the most popular foreign country, Trump also given firm support
LONDON: As Syrians this week marked one year since the downfall of Bashar Assad, a survey conducted inside the country has found overwhelming support for the new president and placed Saudi Arabia as the most popular international partner.
The former president fled the country on Dec. 8, 2024, after a lightning offensive by opposition forces reached Damascus, bringing an end to 14 years of civil war.
The campaign was spearheaded by Ahmad Al-Sharaa, who now serves as the country’s president and has pressed ahead with efforts to stabilize Syria and rebuild relations with international partners.
Those efforts were recognized in a recently published survey that found that 81 percent of those asked were confident in the president and 71 percent in the national government.
There was also strong backing for key institutions, with more than 70 percent supporting the army and 62 percent in favor of the courts and legal system.
It was carried out during October and November by Arab Barometer, a US-based nonprofit research network.
The survey questioned more than 1,200 randomly selected adults in person across the country, asking their thoughts on a range of issues, including the government’s performance, the economy and security.
The strong support shown for Al-Sharaa is at a level that would be the envy of most Western governments and comes as Syria faces many deep challenges.
The cost of rebuilding the country has been placed at more than $200 billion by the World Bank, the economy has been devastated and the country has faced outbreaks of sectarian violence.
Al-Sharaa has worked to end Syria’s international isolation, building support from countries in the region and successfully lobbying the US to lift sanctions.
A key backer has been Saudi Arabia, which has offered political and economic support. The survey placed the Kingdom as the most popular foreign country with 90 percent viewing Saudi Arabia favorably.
Qatar was also popular, with more than 80 percent viewing the emirate as favorable and 73 percent admiring Turkey.
Most of those asked — 66 percent — also viewed the US favorably, an appreciation of President Donald Trump’s decision to ease sanctions and the impact that will have on the daily lives of Syrians.
After meeting Al-Sharaa in Washington last month, Trump announced a partial suspension of sanctions after already easing many sections of the sanctions regime against the country.
The survey found 61 percent have a positive view of Trump, a figure higher than in much of the Middle East.
There was much less enthusiasm, however, for Washington’s efforts for Syria to normalize relations with Israel.
Only 14 percent supported such a move and just 4 percent had a favorable opinion of Israel.
During the tumult of Assad’s demise, Israel’s military occupied a further swathe of southern Syria and has regularly launched attacks on the country in the last year.
More than 90 percent of Syrians said they viewed Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories and strikes on Iran, Lebanon and Syria as critical threats to their security.
Writing jointly in Foreign Policy magazine, Salma Al-Shami and Michael Robbins from Arab Barometer said the survey results provided reasons to be optimistic about Syria’s future.
“We found that the country’s people are hopeful, supportive of democracy and open to foreign assistance,” they said. “They approve of and trust their current government.”
But the authors also said the results provided some reasons for concern, particularly over the state of the economy and internal security.
Support for the government also dropped off sharply in regions largely home to the Alawite ethno-religious group.
The Assad dynasty that ruled Syria for more than 50 years belonged to the Alawite minority and members of the group held many of the positions of power during that rule.
The survey showed that Syrians view the economy as a major concern, with just 17 percent happy with its performance and many worried about inflation, jobs and poverty.
Some 86 percent said their incomes did not cover their expenses and 65 percent said they had struggled to buy food in the previous month.
There was also concern about security, with 74 percent supportive of any government effort to collect weapons from armed groups and 63 percent viewing kidnapping as a critical threat.
Marking the anniversary of Assad’s downfall on Monday, Al-Sharaa said the government was working to build a strong Syria, consolidate its stability and safeguard its sovereignty.
