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Gulf Insider
08-08-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Insider
Nearly 10,000 Killed In Syria Since 'Diversity-Friendly Jihadists' Seized Power
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has documented the violent deaths of nearly 10,000 people in Syria since the former ISIS commander, Ahmad al-Sharaa, was installed in power in Damascus. After Sharaa toppled the government of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December last year, he was widely praised. An article in the UK's Telegraph described his armed group, the former Al-Qaeda affiliated Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), as 'diversity friendly jihadists'. Since that time, his HTS-led security forces have gone on a killing spree targeting Syria's minority groups. SOHR reported on 7 August that 'due to ongoing violence and violations by local and foreign actors, coupled with widespread security chaos,' at least 9,889 people have been killed since 8 December 2024, the day Damascus fell. The SORH said that 7,449 civilians were among the victims, including 396 children and 541 women. It also stressed that there has been no accountability for killings carried out by members of Syria's security forces and affiliated armed factions, while 'in some cases, perpetrators are being covered up and facts are being distorted.' The SOHR noted, for example, that the fact-finding committee formed to investigate the massacre of roughly 1,600 Alawite civilians in Syria's coastal regions in March 'did not provide results consistent with the facts,' and was released while government forces and affiliated factions were carrying out new massacres of Druze civilians in Suwayda. At the same time, pro-government media have launched campaigns aimed at undermining any groups seeking to document or expose the human rights violations, including by 'disseminating sectarian and inflammatory rhetoric' against specific religious minority groups. For example, media campaigns have been launched to deflect from the massacres by calling Alawites 'remnants of the regime' of Bashar al-Assad, calling the Druze 'collaborators' with Israel, and calling the Kurds 'separatists.' In many videos posted online, Syrian government-affiliated fighters regularly refer to both Alawites and Druze as 'pigs' before executing them in their homes and the street. The SOHR stated as well that thousands of detainees – who have not had a proper trial or been allowed to appear before a judge – remain in prison. Among the detainees are people arrested after the fall of Assad, and others who were arrested during raids or at security checkpoints. Many of these detainees have no clear charges against them and are being arbitrarily detained without due process, SOHR added. Bet he constantly dreamed of sitting on this special chair next to a Gulf-owned American diplomat billionaire while he was coordinating suicide bombers to hit US convoys and hiding in caves. An inspiration to us all. — Lindsey Snell (@LindseySnell) August 6, 2025 On 5 August, SOHR reported that families of kidnapped civilians renewed calls for Syrian authorities to reveal the fate of young Alawite men taken from their homes without charges during the massacres on the coast in March. The missing detainees are from the villages of Hmeimim, Bustan al-Basha, Al-Qabo, and Al-Sanober. Families told SOHR activists that armed groups stormed houses and took the young men to an unknown location without explaining the reasons or issuing official arrest warrants. Since then, Syrian authorities have provided no information about their fate despite repeated demands from their families.
Euronews
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
US revokes foreign terrorist designation for Syria's HTS
The Trump administration has revoked the foreign terrorist organisation designation of Syria's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), as part of a broader US engagement with the transitional government since the ouster of former leader Bashar al-Assad late last year. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the move, which takes effect on Tuesday, "recognizes the positive actions taken by the new Syrian government" under its President Ahmad al-Sharaa. "This FTO revocation is an important step in fulfilling President Trump's vision of a stable, unified, and peaceful Syria," Rubio said. The decision was made a fortnight ago, with Washington having taken several steps to ease or end many US sanctions that had been imposed during al-Assad's rule. The removal of the terrorism designation looks to end Syria's isolation since an HTS-led lightning rebel offensive ousted the al-Assad family from decades of rule, and give the new government a boost as it tries to rebuild a nation shattered by 13 years of civil war. Speaking on Monday before having dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, US President Donald Trump repeated that he had previously been told that Syria's new leader "comes from a very tough background". "I said: 'Well, you know, I'm not that surprised. It's a tough part of the world,'" said Trump, who met with al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia in May. "But I was very impressed by him. But we took the sanctions off because we want to give them a chance." Last month, Trump inked an executive order ending many US economic sanctions on Syria, following through on a promise he made to al-Sharaa when they met. Syria has been improving relations with the US and other Western nations since al-Assad's ouster. The order did not rescind sanctions imposed on al-Assad, his top aides, relatives and officials who had been determined to have committed human rights abuses or been involved in drug trafficking or part of Syria's chemical weapons programme. It also leaves intact a major set of sanctions passed by US Congress targeting anyone doing business with or supporting Syria's military, intelligence or other suspect institutions. 'Positive step' HTS was previously known as al-Nusra Front when it was al-Qaeda's Syria branch. Al-Nusra was initially designated a foreign terrorist organisation by the US for its affiliation with al-Qaeda, at a time when al-Sharaa went under a nom de guerre, Abu Mohammad al-Julani. In 2016, al-Sharaa's group split and changed its name to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which the first Trump administration added to the initial terrorism designation in 2018. In a statement, Syria's foreign ministry said the revocation was a "positive step toward correcting a course that previously hindered constructive engagement". The ministry said it hoped that the delisting of HTS would "contribute to the removal of remaining restrictions that continue to impact Syrian institutions and officials, and open the door to a rational, sovereign-based approach to international cooperation". Al-Sharaa is reportedly planning to attend the upcoming UN General Assembly in New York in September. The UN Security Council (UNSC) still has sanctions in place on HTS and al-Sharaa individually, which can only be removed by the Council itself. Russia, which is a permanent member of the UNSC, and its President Vladimir Putin are longtime backers of former dictator al-Assad, who remains in exile in Moscow.
Middle East Eye
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Syria in direct, face-to-face deconfliction talks with Israel: Report
Syria and Israel have engaged in direct, face-to-face talks in recent weeks aimed at preventing another flareup along their shared border, Reuters reported on Tuesday. The news agency cited five sources that it said wished to remain anonymous for the story. Syria and Israel have been foes since Israel's inception, but more so since Israel occupied the Syrian Golan Heights in 1967, in contravention of international law. The United Nations - and much of the world, save for the US - considers the Golan illegally occupied. The reported meetings, which build on previously confirmed backchannel talks, mark a shift for the new Syrian government under former Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader Ahmed al-Sharaa. He has made overtures to Israel's western allies as he seeks foreign aid and investment to rebuild the country. Syria's former president, Bashar al-Assad, fled to Moscow as HTS-led groups were welcomed by the public into Damascus in December. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Reuters said that senior Syrian security official Ahmad al-Dalati, the current governor of the province of Quneitra, which borders the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, is leading the discussions. Dalati had also recently been in charge of security in the southern province of Sweida, home to Syria's Druze minority. There still was no knowledge of who led the talks on the Israeli side, Reuters noted, but at least two sources said that normalisation of ties between Syria and Israel wasn't necessarily on the table - rather, it was a discussion to achieve broader political understandings. US opens up to the new Syria In a surprise move earlier this month, US President Donald Trump announced the lifting of all sanctions on Syria during a trip to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Syria had been consistently under some measure of US sanctions for decades. "I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness," Trump said to applause and a standing ovation during a speech in the Saudi capital. "Oh, what I do for the crown prince," he said, as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, seated in the front row, crossed his arms over his chest in an expression of gratitude. If Trump follows through on his pledge in full, it would mark the first time Syria has not been under US sanctions since 1979, when the US labelled Damascus a state sponsor of terrorism under the government of Hafez al-Assad, father of Bashar. 'Show us something special': Trump announces lifting Syria sanctions Read More » "We are taking them all off," he added, referring to the full raft of sanctions. "There is a new government that will hopefully succeed," Trump said. "I say good luck, Syria. Show us something special." Trump also met with Sharaa in Riyadh and said he was impressed by the leader, a former al-Qaeda fighter who fought against US forces in Iraq. The US president later suggested that he hoped for Israel and Syria to normalise, but it was unclear whether that was a precondition for Syria to receive the necessary waivers that would allow it to conduct business internationally. What Sharaa has done so far, however, is arrest members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) who live in Syria. PIJ participated with Hamas in the attacks on southern Israel on 7 October 2023. Sharaa's only public comments on Israel have been that his position is a return to the terms of a 1974 ceasefire agreement, which created a UN buffer zone in the Golan Heights. He has said that Syria will not be a threat to any of its neighbours. Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who recently met his Syrian counterpart in Turkey, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Israel is at a critical point in discussions with Syrian officials. "We've had conversations with them about this, what we view as an opportunity for Israel, if, in fact, Syria is stable and has in it a government that has no interest... in fighting a war," Rubio told lawmakers. He said there have been some assurances from Damascus. "Obviously, you have to prove it, but they have said this is a nationalist project. They are seeking to build a nation. They're not viewing themselves as a launch pad for revolution. They're not viewing themselves as a launch pad for attacks against Israel."
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Business Standard
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
From terrorist to Trump's ally: Who is Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa?
Once hunted by the US with a $10 million bounty, Syria's interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa now shakes hands with Donald Trump in a rare and dramatic diplomatic U-turn Nandini Singh New Delhi In a moment that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday shook hands with Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, during a high-stakes summit in Riyadh — the first face-to-face encounter between leaders of the US and Syria in more than a quarter-century, according to the Associated Press. But behind the smiles and diplomatic optics lies a story filled with conflict, controversy, and transformation. Syria's interim president, now recognised by the White House, once carried a $10 million bounty by the US government. Earlier known to intelligence agencies as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, he is a former jihadist with ties to al-Qaida and the Iraqi insurgency, CNN reported. How a jihadist commander became Syria's interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa is Syria's new interim president, but he wasn't always a political figure. Once a top commander within militant networks during the Iraq War, al-Sharaa was part of insurgent groups that targeted US forces. His real name only came to prominence after years of operating under aliases, most notably as the head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — a powerful Islamist rebel faction. Captured and imprisoned by US forces during the 2000s, al-Sharaa later resurfaced in Syria's chaotic civil war landscape. Over the years, he evolved from a field commander to a political leader, eventually becoming the face of the opposition that toppled Bashar al-Assad's regime earlier this year. How al-Sharaa rose to power after Assad's fall In January, his HTS-led coalition launched a surprise offensive that dismantled Assad's long-standing grip on power. The operation not only marked the end of nearly five decades of Assad family rule but also catapulted al-Sharaa to Syria's highest office. Backed by Gulf powers who view him as a counterweight to Iranian influence, al-Sharaa quickly gained legitimacy. Turkey, a longtime supporter of Syrian rebel factions, facilitated his visit to Riyadh. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan even joined the Trump-al-Sharaa meeting via phone call. Trump-al-Sharaa summit: What was discussed? The meeting itself lasted just over 30 minutes — but it was historic. Not since 2000, when Hafez al-Assad met then-President Bill Clinton, has a Syrian leader engaged directly with an American president. President Trump announced the end of crippling US sanctions on Syria immediately following the meeting. 'I am ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria to give them a fresh start,' Trump said. 'It gives them a chance for greatness. The sanctions were really crippling, very powerful.' According to the Associated Press, the White House is framing the move as a bold step toward regional stability — although it's already causing discomfort among US allies. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump asked al-Sharaa to expel foreign militants, assume control over ISIS detention centers from Kurdish-led forces, and consider diplomatic recognition of Israel — a significant challenge for a leader with Islamist roots. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman praised Trump's decision, calling it a step toward 'alleviating the suffering' of the Syrian people. 'We commend the decision made yesterday by President Trump to lift the sanctions on the brotherly Syrian Arab Republic,' said the Crown Prince. How the world reacted to the Trump-Sharaa meeting In Syria, celebrations erupted across the capital. Fireworks lit up Damascus' Umayyad Square as crowds waved Syrian flags and chanted slogans of unity. State-run SANA broadcast live scenes of public jubilation, while government officials called Trump's move a 'pivotal turning point' for national recovery. But not everyone is cheering. In Israel, alarm bells are ringing. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly warned Trump against normalising relations with a figure tied to terrorist groups, cautioning that Syria could again become a launchpad for attacks — as seen in the October 7, 2023 Hamas assault on Israel. The skepticism isn't limited to Jerusalem. Western security agencies remain cautious, noting that while HTS has attempted to rebrand, its extremist roots and track record remain a concern. The group is still seen by many as a potential threat disguised under a new political banner.
Epoch Times
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Syrian Leader Visits Paris for Talks With Macron in 1st Official Trip to Europe
Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa headed to Paris on May 7 in his first trip to Europe since his predecessor, Bashar al-Assad, was ousted in a rebel offensive late last year. In Paris, al-Sharaa will meet French President Emmanuel Macron, with whom he is expected to discuss a range of issues pertaining to strife-torn Syria. Issues on the agenda will likely include means of ensuring the country's security and sovereignty, and ensuring the safety of Syrian minority groups that have recently come under threat. Macron and al-Sharaa are also expected to discuss joint efforts against the ISIS terrorist group, along with sought-after Western aid and support for Syria's post-Assad regime. Last December, Assad was toppled by a Turkey-backed rebel offensive led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, an offshoot of the al-Qaeda terrorist group. An internationally designated terrorist group, HTS now leads Syria's interim government, while its leader, al-Sharaa, currently serves as the country's interim leader. Related Stories 4/19/2025 3/16/2025 Due to his previous ties with al-Qaeda, al-Sharaa remains on a terrorism sanctions list, but was granted an exemption by the United Nations in order to visit the French capital. Al-Sharaa's visit to Paris could provide a diplomatic boost for his HTS-led interim government, which has yet to be formally recognized by the White House. Washington has also thus far refrained from lifting U.S. sanctions on Damascus, which were initially imposed when Syria was ruled by Assad. Shortly before al-Sharaa's arrival, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Paris would judge the Syrian leader and his nascent government on their actions. 'We are not writing a blank check,' Barrot said in televised remarks, adding that France expected Damascus to both ensure the safety of Syrian minority groups and assist in the ongoing fight against ISIS. 'If Syria were to collapse today, it would be like rolling out a red carpet for Islamic State [ISIS].' Sanctions Relief, Possible US Withdrawal Paris welcomed Assad's ouster last December and has since made efforts to foster diplomatic ties with al-Sharaa's interim government. Last month, Paris appointed a charge d'affaires in Damascus and a small team of diplomats as the first step toward reopening its embassy in the Syrian capital. Syria's HTS-led security forces deploy in an area near Damascus following the eruption of sectarian violence, in Syria on April 30, 2025. Bakr Alkasem/AFP via Getty Images Along with other Western capitals, Paris cut ties with Damascus in 2012 amid mounting violence between the Assad government and rebel groups, several of which enjoyed foreign backing. In the years that followed, Syria was rocked by internal conflict and foreign intervention, during which time Washington, Brussels, and London imposed harsh sanctions on Damascus. Since the collapse of Assad's army and regime six months ago, the European Union has lifted some of its sanctions on Syria, while others are due to expire on June 1. The World Bank has estimated the cost of rebuilding the country at more than $250 billion, leaving the new Syrian regime in dire need of sanctions relief. Post-Assad Syria remains beset by a host of challenges, including territorial encroachments by neighboring Israel and repeated Israeli airstrikes on the country's Assad-era military infrastructure. Meanwhile, hundreds of U.S. troops remain stationed in the country's northeast, where they work alongside local Kurdish militias as part of an international coalition against ISIS. Last month, U.S. officials appeared to suggest that the Trump administration was mulling a partial withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria in the months ahead. 'This deliberate and conditions-based process will bring the U.S. footprint in Syria down to less than a thousand U.S. forces in the coming months,' Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement on April 18. Reuters contributed to this report.
