Rebels in Syria who ousted President Bashar al-Assad and are now in power on Tuesday appointed the head of a transitional government to run the country until March 1. “The general command has entrusted us with running the transitional government until March 1,” said a statement issued on state television’s Telegram account under the name of Mohamed al-Bashir, who is being addressed as the “new Syrian prime minister.”
Assad fled Syria on Sunday after an Islamist-led rebel coalition entered the capital Damascus, ending his dynasty’s brutal five-decade rule. Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the Islamist leader who led the offensive to force Assad out, has begun talks for a transfer of power and pledged to prosecute former senior officials responsible for torture and war crimes.
His group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, is affiliated with the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda and is banned as a terrorist organization by many Western governments, although it has sought to moderate its rhetoric. The UN envoy for Syria said groups pushing for Assad to flee must translate their “good message” into action on the ground.
“They have been sending messages of unity, of inclusion, we have seen things that are reassuring in Aleppo and Hama as well,” said Jir Pedersen, “but what we don’t want to see is that the undoubtedly good statements and what we are initially seeing on the ground, have not been put into practice in the days and weeks ahead of us.”
The fall of Assad, who maintained a complex network of prisons and detention centers to prevent Syrians from deviating from the Baath Party line, has brought a wave of celebration and joy across the country and in the diaspora around the world. The civil war killed half a million people and forced half the country’s population to flee their homes, with millions of them seeking refuge abroad.
The country is now facing deep uncertainty following the collapse of the government that ran every aspect of daily life. “We will not hesitate to hold accountable the criminals, murderers, security and military officials involved in torturing the Syrian people,” Jolani, who now uses his real name, Ahmed al-Sara, vowed.
According to a statement on Telegram, Jolani held talks with outgoing Prime Minister Mohammed al-Jalali on Monday to “coordinate the transfer of power to guarantee the provision of services” to the Syrian people.
