Ex-assadic security forces hand over weapons to new Syrian government

Ex-assadic security forces hand over weapons to new Syrian government

In the Syrian city of Latakia in the south of the country, former regime security forces have given their weapons to the transitional government associated with rebels. This emerges from a current video that was recorded by the France-Presse (AFP) news agency.

gun handover in Latakia

The recordings that arose at the beginning of this week show long snakes of men in civil clothing who are waiting to give their personal firearms to civil servants of the Interior Ministry of the new Syrian government. In the AFP video, the men can be seen how they are asked informally and get their passport photos while handing over their weapons. Hundreds of various handguns and ammunition are stacked in the corners of the government office.

peaceful crossing of power

These events take place in the context of the effort of the new Syrian leadership, under the direction of the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) group, to translate the power peacefully and to gain international recognition. Mohammad al-Bashir, a guide to the government connected with rebels, was appointed as provisional Prime Minister of the country for the next three months. During this time, his government will monitor Syria's transition to a new form of government, as he announced in a television address last week. The Minister of the former Liberation government and civilians from the Assad era will continue to work as a minister in the transitional government by March 1, 2025.

Abu Mohammad al-Jolani and international relationships

The de facto leader of the country, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, said on Thursday that Syria should not be perceived as a threat to the world, and called for international sanctions. In an interview with the BBC in Damascus, Jolani said: "The sanctions have to be lifted because they were directed against the old regime. The victim and the oppressor should not be treated equally."

Jolani, who now appears under his real name Ahmad al-Sharaa, is an internationally sanctioned former jihadist, and HTS is classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, the United Nations and other governments. "We have not committed crimes in the past 14 years that would characterize us as a terrorist group. We have not attacked civilians or civilians," said Jolani in the BBC interview.

respect for Syrian culture

Jolani also tried to clear out concerns that the new government in Syria could imitate the Taliban model in Afghanistan. He emphasized the differences between the cultures and societies of Afghanistan and Syria and emphasized that the new government in Damascus will respect Syrian culture. He also referred to his support for the formation of women and emphasized the importance of dialogues to ensure that everyone is represented.

international contacts and weapons return

Before that, Jolani secured a meeting in Damascus with Geir Otto Pedersen, the UN special envoy for Syria, who stated, the international community hope for a quick end to the sanctions to "really see a community that is about the reconstruction of Syria". The United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom have also made contact with the rebel groups prevailing in the country, as well as Qatar and Turkey.

The Syrian state media reported that similar programs to return weapons were also implemented in other cities of Syria. When accepting the firearms, the new authorities received a temporary ID from former forces of the regime that will give them freedom to "freed" areas in Syria, while their "legal proceedings are completed", according to a message that was attached to the door of the government building and can be seen in the AFP video. No further details were announced on the "legal procedures".

The role of the Assad regime

The Assad regime and the Syrian armed forces that served his government were responsible for numerous atrocities, while they were against political dissidence, including torture and abuse of prisoners. Assad examined chemical weapons in rebel areas, killing dozens of civilians, much to the horror of the international community. According to the latest estimate of the UN human rights, more than 306,000 civilians in Syria were killed between the outbreak of the civil war in 2011 and March 2021.

The reporting was supported by CNNS Eyad Kourdi and Nadeen Ebrahim.