Dec 12, 2024 08:59 PM
(This post was last modified: Dec 12, 2024 09:08 PM by C C.)
US man found wandering near Damascus after months in Syrian prison
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn54xk0vkq5o
A US man, detained for months in a Syrian prison after entering the country on foot, has described being freed by hammer-wielding men as rebels overthrew the regime of Bashar al-Assad. The man - who later identified himself as Travis Timmerman to the BBC's US news partner CBS - was found by residents near the capital Damascus...
Rebel group’s terrorist label could hinder efforts to aid Syria
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/world...ation.html
INTRO: A few weeks ago, world leaders likely were not thinking about Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its designation as a terrorist organization. But now, the rebel faction that drove a surprise offensive that toppled the Assad regime is Syria’s de facto government.
Suddenly, that terrorist label — used by the United States, the United Nations and others — has became a matter of international concern and debate. The designation means that countries and international organizations are severely restricted in providing aid to a Syrian government that desperately needs it to assert control, provide basic services and rebuild after years of war.
Those limits could have broad consequences for Syria and the Middle East, with analysts and regional officials warning that a weak and fractured state would incubate terror groups like the Islamic State. Some experts contend that now is the time to offer Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist group, a prompt path to legitimacy.
“This is that period when things fail,” said Kirsten Fontenrose, a senior fellow in the Atlantic Council Middle East program who served on the National Security Council during the Trump administration. After a regime falls, power vacuums can fill quickly, she argued, so the international community should draft a reconstruction blueprint for Syria that acknowledges Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and offers it financial incentives to transform into a political unit with no paramilitary, supportive of free and fair elections.
Donors have leverage, Ms. Fontenrose said, because anyone leading Syria will need foreign aid, and the group may be at its most amenable to change now, as it seeks legitimacy and support....
Christians in Syria are holding their breath
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/12/12/o...inorities/
EXCERPTS: Some American friends are congratulating my family on the “liberation” of Syria by Islamist rebels once linked to Al Qaeda. But I fear that the country in which I grew up as a Christian, and which I left in 2015, may no longer exist. Aleppo, my city of 2 million where I proudly wore my cross, showed my curly hair in university, and dressed as I wanted, may soon be unrecognizable.
With the Islamic group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) now in control, Syria — especially its minorities — lives in paranoia. The Christian community holds its breath. Bearded fighters arrived with free bread, roses, and film crews, declaring that they bring “peace and tolerance” and insisting Syria belongs to all its people. I’m not easily convinced...
[...] Despite Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s media campaign to assuage fears in Syria’s minority communities, liquor stores were destroyed and a Christmas tree in Al Aziziah, Aleppo’s Christian center, was felled — and then hastily restored after media backlash.
Jihadists clad in black balaclavas are asking women to cover their hair. One woman I know refused, citing the HTS leaders’ promises spoken at her church the day prior. The fighter demanding this of her angrily walked away.
New billboards appeared in Aleppo, quoting the new HTS-appointed minister of justice, who said that Islamic sharia law is “the reference and authority in your disputes, affairs, and various dealings.”
So far, infractions against Christians have been relatively limited, likely because of international press attention. Other minorities, like Kurds, Ismailis, and Yezidis, may not be as fortunate...
Demoralized and abandoned by allies -- Why Assad's army failed to fight in Syria
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/dem...r-AA1vJUhg
EXCERPTS: The sources, along with intelligence documents Reuters found in an abandoned military office in the capital, painted a detailed picture of how Assad's once-feared army had been hollowed out by the demoralization of troops, heavy reliance on foreign allies particularly for the command structure, and growing anger across the ranks at rampant corruption.
[...] Crucially, much of the Syrian military's operational command structure was run by Iranian military advisors and their militia allies, they said. But many of the Iranian military advisers had left this spring after Israeli air strikes on Damascus, and the rest departed last week, said the Iraqi militia commanders, who worked alongside them.
Hezbollah fighters and commanders had already mostly left in October to focus on the escalating war in Lebanon with Israel, the source familiar with Hezbollah thinking said.
The Syrian army’s own central command and control centre no longer functioned well after the Iranian and Hezbollah officers left, and the military lacked a defence strategy, particularly for Syria's second city of Aleppo, a Syrian colonel, two Syrian security sources and a Lebanese security source familiar with the Syrian military said.
[...] The corruption and poor morale went up through the ranks. Many midranking officers had been growing increasingly angry in recent years that the army's sacrifices and successes during the war were not reflected in better pay, conditions and resources, two serving, one recently retired and one defected officer said...
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn54xk0vkq5o
A US man, detained for months in a Syrian prison after entering the country on foot, has described being freed by hammer-wielding men as rebels overthrew the regime of Bashar al-Assad. The man - who later identified himself as Travis Timmerman to the BBC's US news partner CBS - was found by residents near the capital Damascus...
Rebel group’s terrorist label could hinder efforts to aid Syria
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/world...ation.html
INTRO: A few weeks ago, world leaders likely were not thinking about Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its designation as a terrorist organization. But now, the rebel faction that drove a surprise offensive that toppled the Assad regime is Syria’s de facto government.
Suddenly, that terrorist label — used by the United States, the United Nations and others — has became a matter of international concern and debate. The designation means that countries and international organizations are severely restricted in providing aid to a Syrian government that desperately needs it to assert control, provide basic services and rebuild after years of war.
Those limits could have broad consequences for Syria and the Middle East, with analysts and regional officials warning that a weak and fractured state would incubate terror groups like the Islamic State. Some experts contend that now is the time to offer Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist group, a prompt path to legitimacy.
“This is that period when things fail,” said Kirsten Fontenrose, a senior fellow in the Atlantic Council Middle East program who served on the National Security Council during the Trump administration. After a regime falls, power vacuums can fill quickly, she argued, so the international community should draft a reconstruction blueprint for Syria that acknowledges Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and offers it financial incentives to transform into a political unit with no paramilitary, supportive of free and fair elections.
Donors have leverage, Ms. Fontenrose said, because anyone leading Syria will need foreign aid, and the group may be at its most amenable to change now, as it seeks legitimacy and support....
Christians in Syria are holding their breath
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/12/12/o...inorities/
EXCERPTS: Some American friends are congratulating my family on the “liberation” of Syria by Islamist rebels once linked to Al Qaeda. But I fear that the country in which I grew up as a Christian, and which I left in 2015, may no longer exist. Aleppo, my city of 2 million where I proudly wore my cross, showed my curly hair in university, and dressed as I wanted, may soon be unrecognizable.
With the Islamic group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) now in control, Syria — especially its minorities — lives in paranoia. The Christian community holds its breath. Bearded fighters arrived with free bread, roses, and film crews, declaring that they bring “peace and tolerance” and insisting Syria belongs to all its people. I’m not easily convinced...
[...] Despite Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s media campaign to assuage fears in Syria’s minority communities, liquor stores were destroyed and a Christmas tree in Al Aziziah, Aleppo’s Christian center, was felled — and then hastily restored after media backlash.
Jihadists clad in black balaclavas are asking women to cover their hair. One woman I know refused, citing the HTS leaders’ promises spoken at her church the day prior. The fighter demanding this of her angrily walked away.
New billboards appeared in Aleppo, quoting the new HTS-appointed minister of justice, who said that Islamic sharia law is “the reference and authority in your disputes, affairs, and various dealings.”
So far, infractions against Christians have been relatively limited, likely because of international press attention. Other minorities, like Kurds, Ismailis, and Yezidis, may not be as fortunate...
Demoralized and abandoned by allies -- Why Assad's army failed to fight in Syria
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/dem...r-AA1vJUhg
EXCERPTS: The sources, along with intelligence documents Reuters found in an abandoned military office in the capital, painted a detailed picture of how Assad's once-feared army had been hollowed out by the demoralization of troops, heavy reliance on foreign allies particularly for the command structure, and growing anger across the ranks at rampant corruption.
[...] Crucially, much of the Syrian military's operational command structure was run by Iranian military advisors and their militia allies, they said. But many of the Iranian military advisers had left this spring after Israeli air strikes on Damascus, and the rest departed last week, said the Iraqi militia commanders, who worked alongside them.
Hezbollah fighters and commanders had already mostly left in October to focus on the escalating war in Lebanon with Israel, the source familiar with Hezbollah thinking said.
The Syrian army’s own central command and control centre no longer functioned well after the Iranian and Hezbollah officers left, and the military lacked a defence strategy, particularly for Syria's second city of Aleppo, a Syrian colonel, two Syrian security sources and a Lebanese security source familiar with the Syrian military said.
[...] The corruption and poor morale went up through the ranks. Many midranking officers had been growing increasingly angry in recent years that the army's sacrifices and successes during the war were not reflected in better pay, conditions and resources, two serving, one recently retired and one defected officer said...
