Assad, Bashar al-

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    Syria’s Leader Appoints New Government After Ousting Assad

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    The choice of cabinet officials was seen as a litmus test for whether the rebels who ousted Bashar al-Assad would deliver on a pledge to create a government representative of all Syrians.Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Shara, announced late Saturday the formation of a caretaker government that will lead the country through a crucial transition as it emerges from more than 50 years of dictatorship under the Assad family’s iron-fisted rule.Mr. al-Shara, who led the coalition of rebel forces that overthrew the Assad regime, appointed a bevy of new ministers, swearing in each before an audience of several hundred dignitaries in a brightly lit hall in the presidential palace on a hill above Damascus.His government included some experienced officials, and one woman — but he appointed close allies to the important ministries of defense, foreign affairs and interior.The rebels who ousted President Bashar al-Assad in December have since been acting as Syria’s de facto authorities. Mr. al-Shara was named interim president and oversaw a transitional government.Among Mr. al-Shara’s early promises was to form a caretaker government by March that would run the country until elections can be held. He has said that it could take up to four years to hold elections because the country is in disarray.The makeup of the new government announced on Saturday, including key cabinet positions, was widely seen as a litmus test for whether Mr. al-Shara would extend any real power beyond his tight-knit circle of allies and make good on his pledge to create an inclusive government that represents all of Syria’s disparate religious and ethnic groups.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Syria Violence Marked by Sectarian and Revenge Killings, War Monitor Says

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      The Syrian Network for Human Rights said armed groups and foreign fighters aligned with the government but not integrated into it were largely responsible for the sectarian violence.Armed groups and foreign fighters linked to the government but not yet integrated into it were primarily responsible for sectarian massacres in Syria’s coastal region over the past week, a war monitoring group said in a new report.The U.S. secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said on Wednesday that the U.S. would “watch the decisions made by the interim authorities” after hundreds of civilians were killed in just several days in areas dominated by the country’s Alawite religious minority. He added that Washington was concerned by “the recent deadly violence against minorities.”The ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad was an Alawite and some members of his minority community enjoyed a privileged status under his rule.The Syrian Network for Human Rights, which monitors the country’s civil war, said in a report released late on Tuesday that the violence in recent days “included extrajudicial killings, field executions, and systematic mass killings motivated by revenge and sectarianism.”The clashes erupted almost a week ago in Latakia and Tartus Provinces — the Alawite heartland of Syria — between fighters aligned with the new government and Assad loyalists. The new government is led by Islamist former rebels who fought Mr. al-Assad in a 13-year civil war.The violence was triggered when pro-Assad militants ambushed security forces last Thursday and killed more than a dozen of them. The government then poured security forces into the coastal region.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Skirmish in Syrian Capital Raises Fears of Expanding Violence

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      The overnight incident in Damascus appeared to have been contained, but it has heightened concerns that the violence sweeping the country’s coastal region could spread.Gunmen attacked a position held by Syrian security forces in Damascus overnight, a war monitor said Monday, raising fears that the deadly violence sweeping Syria’s coastal region could spread to other parts of the country.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has monitored the Syrian conflict since 2011, said that unidentified gunmen threw grenades and opened fire overnight on a building housing government security forces in the highly fortified Mezzeh district of the capital, Damascus. Clashes with government security forces ensued, and it was unclear if anyone was injured, the observatory said. It added that an unspecified number of arrests had been made.There was no immediate comment from Syria’s new government or on state news media, and the information could not be independently verified.The attack came as the country was reeling from a spate of violence that erupted last week between fighters affiliated with Syria’s new government, headed by Ahmed al-Shara, and those loyal to the ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad.More than 1,300 people have been killed since the fighting began, largely in the coastal Latakia and Tartus Provinces, the heartland of Syria’s Alawite minority, according to the observatory. It said on Monday that about 1000 civilians were included in that figure, most of whom were killed by armed forces affiliated with or loyal to the new government. The information could not be independently verified.The violence has stoked fears of a renewed sectarian conflict and presented what appeared to be the most serious challenge yet to Syria’s new leaders as they attempt to unite the country after more than a decade of war. The Assad family is Alawite and the sect dominated the country’s upper class and highest ranks of the former regime’s military.While state news media quoted a spokesman for the defense ministry, Col. Hassan Abdul Ghani, as saying on Monday that the “military operation” was over, the violence reportedly continued, as fighters affiliated with the government stormed a town near the coastal port city of Baniyas and set fire to homes, according to the observatory. . Syria’s interim president, Mr. al-Shara, said on Sunday that the government was forming a fact-finding committee to investigate the violence in the coastal regions and to bring the perpetrators to justice. But it wasn’t clear if he was acknowledging possible killings at the hands of his forces or laying the blame on former regime elements.In an apparent bid to reassure the nation, he appealed for calm on Sunday and repeated calls for Assad loyalists to lay down their arms.“We must preserve national unity and civil peace,” Mr. al-Shara said at a mosque in Damascus, according to video that circulated online. More

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      Syria’s Interim President Calls for Unity Amid Fresh Fighting

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      More than 1,000 people have been killed in clashes in the coastal provinces of Syria, according to one war monitoring group.Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Shara, appealed on Sunday for calm and for unity as he moved to reassure the nation after days of clashes that a monitoring group said had killed hundreds of people.“We must preserve national unity and civil peace,” he said from a mosque in Damascus, according to video that circulated online. “We call on Syrians to be reassured because the country has the fundamentals for survival.”The violence erupted last week between fighters affiliated with Syria’s new government, headed by Mr. al-Shara, and those loyal to the ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad. Scores of civilians have been killed, according to two war monitoring groups, along with combatants on both sides of the conflict.Mr. al-Shara’s remarks on Sunday came as fresh fighting was reported in the countryside of the coastal Latakia and Tartus provinces. A spokesman for the Defense Ministry, Col. Hassan Abdul Ghani, told state media that government forces were combing the countryside for armed fighters loyal to the deposed Assad regime.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has monitored the Syrian conflict since 2011, said that government forces were attacking with drones, tanks and artillery on Sunday. In other areas, it said, government forces were searching for armed groups affiliated with the deposed regime’s military.Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Shara, called on Sunday for unity.Khalil Ashawi/ReutersThe clashes have centered in the coastal provinces, where much of the country’s Alawite religious minority — which dominated the ruling class and upper ranks of the military under the Assad government, and included the Assad family itself — live. That has raised fears of a renewed sectarian conflict in the country.More than 1,000 people have been killed in Tartus and Latakia provinces since the fighting erupted last week, the observatory said early on Sunday. About 700 civilians were included in that figure, most killed by government forces, it said. The information could not be independently verified.Another monitoring group, the Syrian Network for Human Rights, reported earlier that government security forces had killed some 125 civilians. The group had not yet updated its casualty figures on Sunday. It said that men of all ages were among the casualties and that the forces did not distinguish between civilians and combatants.The violence has been the worst since the Assad government was ousted in early December by rebels who became the country’s new leaders. It presents a major test of the new government’s authority and ability to unify the country, which has deep sectarian divisions after more than 13 years of civil war. More

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      What We Know About the Clashes in Syria

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      At least 70 people have been killed in clashes between government forces and gunmen loyal to the Assad regime, in a serious challenge to the country’s new rulers.Violence has erupted in Syria’s coastal region, a longtime bastion of support for Bashar al-Assad, the ousted president.At least 70 people have been killed in clashes between government security forces and gunmen loyal to the Assad regime. Thousands of protesters have flooded the streets in the first wide-scale demonstrations against the new government. Residents have been ordered to stay indoors as security forces scramble to contain the turmoil.This unrest is one of the most serious challenges yet to Syria’s new rulers, who swept to power in December after a lightning advance led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.Here’s what you need to know:Where are the clashes?Who are the Assad loyalists taking up arms?How have Syria’s new government and its allies responded?Where are the clashes?The violence is centered on Syria’s Mediterranean coast, the heartland of the country’s Alawite minority. About 10 percent of Syrians belong to the sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. The Assad family, which governed Syria with an iron fist for five decades, are Alawites, and the sect dominated the ruling class and upper ranks of the military.Since Syria’s new Islamist rulers swept to power, many Alawites have grown unnerved.Syrians are demanding accountability for crimes committed under the Assad government, and the country’s interim president, Ahmed al-Shara, has pledged to hunt down and prosecute senior regime figures. Mr. al-Shara has promised stability and to safeguard the rights of ordinary Syrians from all sects. But the Alawite-dominated region has experienced low-level violence in recent months, often as a result of security forces trying to arrest former officers.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      How Might the Rebels Govern Syria? Their Ruling History in Idlib Offers Clues

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      The Islamist rebels who ousted Syria’s dictator ran a pragmatic and disciplined administration in the territory they controlled. They also jailed their critics.Every fall, when farmers across the rolling, red dirt hills of Idlib Province in northern Syria harvest their olive crops, they routinely find at least one representative of the local tax authority stationed at any oil press.The tax collector takes at least 5 percent of the oil, and farmers grouse that there are no exceptions, even in lean harvest years.The collectors work for the civilian government established under Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the rebel movement that just spearheaded the swift overthrow of the 54-year Assad dynasty. The Islamist group has administered much of opposition-held Idlib Province since 2017.Measures like the olive oil tax, introduced in 2019, have prompted protests and even occasional armed clashes and arrests.Yet the Syrian Salvation Government, as the Idlib administration was known, persisted. It taxed goods entering its territory and generated revenue by selling fuel and running a telecom company. It also controlled the local economy through licensing regulation programs that looked a lot like a conventional government’s and proved that it was fairly adept at managing those finances to build up its military operations and provide civil services.The portrait of the rebel group detailed in this article was gleaned from interviews with experts, representatives of humanitarian or other organizations working in the territory under its control, local residents and reports by the United Nations or think tanks.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Israel Strikes Military Targets in Syria

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      The Israeli military hit weapons depots and air defenses, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Israel has said it aims to keep military equipment out of the hands of extremists after rebels seized power a week ago.Israel struck multiple Syrian weapons depots and air defenses overnight and into Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, in what appeared to be the latest in a series of airstrikes that Israel has said are aimed at keeping military hardware and infrastructure out of the hands of extremists after rebels seized power a week ago.In all, Israel struck its neighbor 75 times in attacks that began Saturday night near the Syrian capital, Damascus, and the cities of Hama and Homs, said the Observatory, a Britain-based monitoring organization that has long tracked the conflict in Syria.Israel has struck Syria more than 450 times since the collapse of the al-Assad regime a week ago, according to the Observatory, destroying Syria’s navy and dozens of ammunition depots, air bases and other military equipment.Israel’s military has also seized and occupied an expanse of territory in Syria over the de facto border between the two countries, giving no timeline for its departure apart from saying that it would stay until its security demands are met.There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military about its latest strikes in Syria.Neither the previous Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad nor the new authorities in Damascus have attacked Israel, and Arab countries and France have called on Israel to withdraw and respect Syria’s sovereignty.Israeli officials, however, say that the raids are necessary to secure the border and to keep Syria’s weaponry from falling into the hands of extremists while the country remains unstable.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Hezbollah Loses Supply Route Through Syria, in Blow to It and Iran

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      The militant group’s leader admits that the toppling of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, cut off an important land route from Iran.The leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah acknowledged on Saturday that its supply route through Syria had been cut off by rebels who toppled the government last weekend, dealing another blow to Hezbollah and its patron, Iran.Before its collapse, the Syrian government had provided a land corridor for Iran to supply weapons and materiel to Hezbollah in Lebanon, bolstering the militant group’s power and Iran’s influence as its main backer.“Hezbollah has lost the supply route coming through Syria at the current stage, but this is a small detail and may change with time,” the Hezbollah leader, Naim Qassem, said Saturday in a televised speech.He added that Hezbollah — which recently agreed to a cease-fire with Israel after months of war — would look for alternate means of getting supplies or see if its Syria route could be re-established under “a new regime.”He did not specifically mention the coalition of rebel forces that swept into Damascus, the Syrian capital, last weekend, or Syria’s deposed president, Bashar al-Assad, who had for years relied on help from Hezbollah and Iran in his country’s civil war.Hezbollah’s loss of its supply route through Syria, which remains fractured, is another setback for the militant group after a year of conflict with Israel and several months of all-out warfare. In a string of blows from September until late last month, when the cease-fire took effect in Lebanon, Israel detonated the group’s wireless devices, bombarded it with intense air raids, attacked its positions with a ground invasion and killed many of its commanders.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      With al-Assad Gone, Syrians Search Prisons for Traces of Their Loved Ones

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      Her brother was pulled from his car at a military checkpoint nearly a decade ago, her brother-in-law dragged from his house by the police. Two of her cousins were arrested near the airport in the Syrian capital, Damascus. She said she never had heard from any of them again.So after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday, Ghusun Juma, 35, began a quest for answers that led her to an underground prison in one of Syria’s most notorious detention centers, a drab collection of buildings in southeastern Damascus.“I am looking to see if there is anything that belonged to my brother, his ID card, or something with his name on it,” she said, guiding herself through a dark, dank cell block with a cellphone flashlight. “I have been looking since the first day, but I haven’t found anything anywhere.”Mr. al-Assad’s ouster, and his troops’ abandonment of their bases as rebels stormed through Damascus, has exposed the black boxes of one of the Arab world’s most repressive regimes. While some Syrians have wandered through his luxurious palace, many more have combed through the vast network of detention centers whose repression helped keep him in power.An untold number of Syrians disappeared into the maw of that security apparatus over the decades. As the rebels broke into prisons and freed prisoners over the last few weeks, many Syrians hoped that their missing relatives would soon return home.Ghusun Juma, 35, right, searching underground cells at Branch 235, which was also known as Palestine Branch.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More