Welcome Guest! You are here: Home » Syria

Syria is for all religions, sects: HTS reassures

Amidst the apprehensions that there could be clashes after the fall of Assad regime, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) while calling for unity reassured that Syria is for all religions and sects

Wednesday December 18, 2024 5:49 PM, ummid.com with inputs from Agencies

[HTS leader Abu Mohammad al Jolani with an official from the British Foreign Office in Damascus on Tuesday December 17, 2024.]

Damascus: Amidst the apprehensions that there could be clashes after the fall of Assad regime, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) while calling for unity reassured that Syria is for all religions and sects.

Syria Demography

Syria is home to multiple ethnic and religious communities that have spent years pitted against each other by al-Assad's state and a gruelling civil war.

The US-backed, Kurdish-led forces in northeast Syria are one such minority that control the semi-autonomous region and oversee detention centres housing IS militants.

Clashes over territory have already taken place in some areas between Kurdish forces and the armed groups that overthrew al-Assad.

But, HTS' spokesman Obeida Arnaout insisted that Syria had entered a new phase and that the government was looking to build good relations with its neighbours.

Arnaout insisted that Kurds are part of the Syrian people and their rights will be protected but added that the new government would not accept any part of Syria to be outside of Damascus' control.

“Kurds are one of the components of the Syrian people and we are very keen that this group has its rights protected,” he said. “The social fabric in Syria is a source of strength and not weakness. But we affirm that we don’t any part of Syria to be separated.”

Meanwhile, after the fall of Bashar al Assad on December 08, 2024, Ahmed al-Sharaa, previously known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani who is Commander in-chief of HTS, reassured everyone in Syria to feel peace.

“Syria must remain united,” al-Sharaa said, according to the group’s Telegram channel. “There must be a social contract between the state and all religions to guarantee social justice”.

Since taking over power in the stunning overthrow of al-Assad's regime, HTS has worked to establish a smooth political transition in the country, including working with members of al-Assad's former government, according to Euronews.

'Lift the sanctions'

The HTS leader also called for lifting of sanctions against Syria and removal of its name from designated 'terror list'.

The UN envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, who was in Damascus Monday, said he met with the HTS leader and has since called for the lifting of international sanctions on Syria to allow for faster rebuilding.

Meanwhile, a UK-based war monitor said on Monday that Israeli strikes which hit missile warehouses inside Syria were the "most violent" since 2012.

Last week, the UK indicated it would review HTS' designation as a terrorist organisation, although British Prime Minister Keir Starmer then concluded it was "far too early" to make official assessments of the group.

Since taking over power in the stunning overthrow of al-Assad's regime, HTS has worked to establish a smooth political transition in the country, including working with members of al-Assad's former government.

Nevertheless, Western countries have been cautious about lifting sanctions against Syria, although many have established initial contact with HTS.

Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates.

Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic.

 

....

..