Damascus:
As Syria’s new transitional Prime Minister Mohammad al-Bashir took charge and called for “stability and calm” in the country, Israel carried out over 350 airstrikes targeting weapons stockpiles and strategic infrastructure in the Middle Eastern country over the past 48 hours. The Hayat Tahrir al-Shams (HTS) led rebels, who toppled President Bashar al-Assad three days ago, appointed Mohammad al-Bashir as the transitional head of government to run the country until March 1.
Mr al-Bashir, a figure little known across most of Syria ran the rebel-led Salvation Government in a pocket of the northwest controlled by rebels before their 12-day lightning offensive swept into Damascus.
In his first interview since being appointed, Mr Bashir told Qatar’s Al Jazeera television, “Now it is time for this people to enjoy stability and calm.”
Israel Strikes Syria
Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in a statement posted to X, said it has carried out more than 350 airstrikes targeting weapons stockpiles and strategic infrastructure in Syria over the past 48 hours.
The targets included Syrian Navy facilities at Al-Bayda port and Latakia port, Syrian Air Force airfields, dozens of weapons production sites in Damascus, Homs, Tartus, Latakia, and Palmyra, numerous anti-aircraft batteries, drones, aircraft, tanks, scud missiles, cruise missiles, surface-to-sea, surface-to-air, surface-to-surface missiles, UAVs, fighter jets, attack helicopters, radars, hangars, and more.
The IDF said it “conducted air strikes on 130 assets in Syria, including weapons depots, military structures, launchers, and firing positions.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that in overnight strikes the Syrian navy fleet was wiped out and Israeli troops were “establishing themselves” at the buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Turkish Strikes
Meanwhile, the Turkish intelligence agency is also attacking targets in Syria. On Tuesday, Turkish security officials said their intelligence agency attacked a convoy of trucks allegedly carrying missiles, heavy weapons and ammunition that were abandoned by the Syrian government and reportedly seized by Syrian Kurdish militias, according to a report by The Guardian.
As per the report, 12 trucks, two tanks and two ammunition depots were “destroyed” in aerial strikes in the city of Qamishli, near the Turkish border.
US Urges ‘Inclusive’ Process For New Syrian Govt
The outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged all nations to support an “inclusive” political process in Syria, saying the United States would eventually recognize a government if it meets such standards. “The Syrian people will decide the future of Syria. All nations should pledge to support an inclusive and transparent process and refrain from external interference,” Mr Blinken said in a statement.
“The United States will recognize and fully support a future Syria government that results from this process,” he added.
The US Secretary of State said that the future government of Syria should be “credible, inclusive and non-sectarian” after Islamist rebels toppled strongman Bashar al-Assad, a member of the Alawite minority who led a secular dictatorship.
HTS’s Message To The World
HTS commander Ahmed al-Sharaa, aka Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, has urged foreign countries to not fear Syria after Bashar al-Assad’s regime was overthrown. Speaking to American broadcaster Sky News, Jolani, said, “Their (West’s) fears are unnecessary, God willing”.
“The country will be rebuilt,” he said, adding, “The fear was from the presence of the regime. The country is moving towards development and reconstruction. It’s going towards stability.”
He continued: “People are exhausted from war. So the country isn’t ready for another one and it’s not going to get into another one. The source of our fears was from the Iranian militias, Hezbollah and the regime which committed the massacres we are seeing today. So their removal is the solution for Syria. The current situation won’t allow for a return to panic.”
UN To Consider Taking HTS Off Terrorist List
The United Nations said it would consider removing Hayat Tahrir al-Sham from its designated terrorist list if it passes the key test of forming a truly inclusive transitional government, according to a report by The Guardian.
Quoting Geir Pedersen, UN special envoy for Syria, the report said the UN would consider the proposal if the group could not seek to govern Syria in the way that it had governed Idlib, the northern province where it was based and from where it led the military breakout.
“We have to be honest and look at the facts. It has been nine years since that resolution was adopted and the reality so far is that HTS and other armed groups have been sending good messages to the Syrian people of unity and inclusiveness. In Hama and Aleppo, there have been reassuring things on the ground…My message is Syria cannot be run like Idlib.” he said.
75 Indians Evacuated From Syria
India on Tuesday evacuated 75 Indian nationals from Syria, two days after rebel forces overthrew President Bashar Assad’s authoritarian government. The evacuation, coordinated by the embassies of India in Damascus and Beirut, was put into effect following an assessment of the security situation, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
“The Government of India today evacuated 75 Indian nationals from Syria, following recent developments in that country,” it said in a late-night statement.
“The evacuees included 44 ‘zaireen’ from Jammu and Kashmir who were stranded at Saida Zainab. All Indian nationals have safely crossed over to Lebanon and will return by available commercial flights to India,” it said.