Syrian rebels say they have lifted the curfew they imposed on the capital Damascus a few days ago, to urge people to resume business as usual.
The insurgents lifted the curfew to urge people to resume going to work to help rebuild the new Syria, a statement by the rebel command said.
After Bashar al-Assad’s fall on Sunday, the insurgents imposed a 4pm-5am curfew.
The main commander of the fighters said on Wednesday that anyone involved in the torture or killing of detainees during the ousted Syrian president’s rule would be hunted down, and pardons were out of the question.
“We will pursue them in Syria, and we ask countries to hand over those who fled so we can achieve justice,” Abu Mohammed al-Golani said in a statement published on the Syrian state TV’s Telegram channel.
The world is carefully watching to see if Syria’s new rulers can stabilise the country and avoid unleashing violent revenge after a 13-year civil war fought along sectarian and ethnic lines destroyed the country.
A resident of Assad’s family hometown of Qardaha said Sunni Islamist fighters had torched the mausoleum of Assad’s father Hafez over the past two days, instilling fear among villagers from Assad’s Alawite sect who had pledged co-operation with the new rulers.
Syria ran one of the most oppressive police states in the Middle East during five decades of Assad family rule.
Golani, whose former al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is now the country’s most powerful force, must balance demands for justice from victims with the need to prevent violence and secure international aid.
Mohammad al-Bashir, the man installed by Golani’s fighters to lead an interim administration as prime minister, said he aimed to bring back millions of refugees as well as create unity and provide basic services.
But rebuilding would be daunting with little funding on hand.
“In the coffers there are only Syrian pounds worth little or nothing. One US dollar buys 35,000 of our coins,” Bashir told Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera.
“We have no foreign currency and as for loans and bonds we are still collecting data. So yes, financially we are very bad,” said Bashir, who previously ran a small rebel-led administration in a pocket of northwestern Syria.
Rebuilding Syria is a colossal task following a civil war that killed hundreds of thousands of people.
Cities have been bombed to ruins, swathes of countryside depopulated and the economy gutted by international sanctions.
Millions of refugees still live in camps after one of the biggest displacements of modern times.
Foreign officials are warily engaging with the former rebels, although HTS remains designated an international terrorist organisation by the United Nations, the United States, Russia, Turkey and other countries like Australia.
The new government must “uphold clear commitments to fully respect the rights of minorities, facilitate the flow of humanitarian assistance to all in need, prevent Syria from being used as a base for terrorism or posing a threat to its neighbours,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said: “It’s our duty to do everything to support different Syrian leaders in order to make sure that they come together, they are able to guarantee a smooth transition.”
“The alternative doesn’t make any sense,” he said.
with DPA
https://thewest.com.au/news/conflict/insurgents-lift-curfew-inside-syrian-capital-damascus-c-17055284
