Syria's new leaders vowed to create unity, but also hold to account the people who facilitated a half-century of Assad rule. Those calls for revenge added to the unease of many Syrian minorities, including U.S. partners in the fight against Isis who had to give up hard-won territory. Nick Schifrin reports.
Syria’s new leaders promise unity while also holding Assad facilitators accountable
World
Dec 11, 2024 06:45 PM EDT
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Amna Nawaz:
Now to Syria.
The country's new leaders today vowed to create unity, but also hold to account the people who facilitated a half-century of Assad rule. Those calls for revenge added to the unease of many Syrian minorities, including U.S. partners in the fight against ISIS, who today had to give up hard-won territory.
Nick Schifrin begins our coverage.
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Nick Schifrin:
In fractious Syria today, every faction is trying to seize as much power as possible. Today, residents of Deir el-Zour in the northeast welcomed the rebel group that led Syria's takeover, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS.
Up until now, the city had been controlled by the U.S.-backed mostly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces. Those Kurdish forces also lost control of Manbij in Northern Syria, this time to the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army. The map of Syria continues to be redrawn.
The coalition that controls the capital in the west, HTS, and the Syrian National Army in green, are pushing against the Kurds in yellow in Manbij and Deir el-Zour. A U.S. official tells "PBS News Hour" the U.S. negotiated with Kurdish troops to — quote — "hand over" both cities.
The U.S. priority continues to be ensuring the Kurds can help contain pockets of ISIS in black. Meanwhile, in the south, Israel has seized territory that has been demilitarized for 50 years. Syria's unease is felt among its minorities. In the heartland of Shia Alawites, today, Sunni rebels torched the grave of Hafez al-Assad, the father of Bashar al-Assad. The two ruled Syria for more than half-a-century.
Their brutality today is still being uncovered. Outside this Damascus morgue, families hope for news from relatives who long ago disappeared. Mostly, they found horror, bodies burn beyond recognition by Assad's institutionalized industrial punishment of its perceived enemies, including Hlala Merei's sons.
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Hlala Merei, Mother (through interpreter):
I lost my sons in 2013. I have been submitting requests to the military police and the military court, but they keep telling me they don't have them. Since 2013, I have not seen them, nor do I know their fate. Bring back my sons.
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Nick Schifrin:
Today, the country's de facto leader, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, vowed to hold former members of Assad's regime accountable and dissolve Assad's security forces.
He said — quote — "We call on nations to hand over to us wherever those criminals have escaped to subject them to justice."
Some mobs are taking justice into their own hands. Across Syria, social media videos showed rebel factions killing Assad officers reportedly responsible for decades of torture. But, today, for the victors, for those who feel free in post-Assad Syria, the Syrian capital was a picture of peace, even if the scars of war are nearby.
Today, the country's interim prime minister vowed to create unity. That is not guaranteed, but, in the market, in the town square, there is a feeling of freedom.
For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Nick Schifrin.
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