VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis called Wednesday for “mutual respect” between religions in Syria, three days after the country’s longtime president Bashar Assad was toppled by rebels in a lightning offensive.
“I pray... that the Syrian people may live in peace and security in their beloved land and the different religions may walk together in friendship and mutual respect for the good of that nation afflicted by so many years of war,” Francis said during his weekly general audience.
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Pope calls for ‘mutual respect’ between religions in Syria
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Pope calls for ‘mutual respect’ between religions in Syria
- Pope Francis called Wednesday for “mutual respect” between religions in Syria
Iran’s Khamenei says toppling of Syria’s Assad was result of US-Israeli plan
DUBAI: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that the toppling of Syrian President Bashar Assad was the result of a plan by the United States and Israel.
One of Syria’s neighbors also had a role, he said. He did not name the country but appeared to be referring to Turkiye, which has backed anti-Assad rebels.
Assad’s overthrow is widely seen as a major blow to the Iran-led “Axis of Resistance” political and military alliance that opposes Israeli and US influence in the Middle East.
“What happened in Syria was mainly planned in the command rooms of America and Israel. We have evidence of this. A neighboring government of Syria was also involved,” Khamenei said in a speech reported by Iranian state media.
The neighbor had a “clear role and continues to do so,” he said.
NATO member Turkiye, which controls swathes of land in northern Syria after several cross-border incursions against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, has been a main backer of opposition groups aiming to topple Assad since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011.
Iran spent billions of dollars propping up Assad during the war and deployed its Revolutionary Guards to Syria to keep its ally in power.
Hours after Assad’s fall, Iran said it expected relations with Damascus to continue based on the two countries’ “far-sighted and wise approach” and called for the establishment of an inclusive government representing all segments of Syrian society.
In his speech, Khamenei also said the Iran-led alliance would gain in strength across the entire region.
“The more pressure you exert, the stronger the resistance becomes. The more crimes you commit, the more determined it becomes. The more you fight against it, the more it expands Khamenei said.
“Iran is strong and powerful— and will become even stronger,” he said.
Kurdish-led force announces US-brokered truce in Syria’s Manbij
- US-backed SDF fighters spearheaded an offensive that defeated the Daesh group’s self-declared caliphate in Syria in 2019
- US Central Command said its chief General Michael Kurilla had visited US bases and SDF partners in Syria
Beirut: The Kurdish-led force controlling northeast Syria said Wednesday it had reached a US-brokered ceasefire with Turkish-backed fighters in Manbij, after Islamist-led rebels toppled Bashar Assad’s government.
The clashes in Manbij, an Arab-majority city, have killed 218 combatants since Turkish-backed groups launched offensives in the north following the ouster of Assad on Sunday.
“We have reached a ceasefire agreement in Manbij via US mediation,” said Syrian Democratic Forces commander Mazloum Abdi.
He said fighters of the SDF-affiliated Manbij Military Council “will be withdrawn from the area as soon as possible.”
“Our goal is to reach a ceasefire across Syria and start a political process for the future of the country,” Abdi added.
Abdi had told reporters last week that the United Nations had been in touch with the SDF about helping to “shape a political resolution for Syria” as rebels seized power.
The US-backed SDF fighters spearheaded an offensive that defeated the Daesh group’s self-declared caliphate in Syria in 2019.
On Tuesday, US Central Command said its chief General Michael Kurilla had visited US bases and SDF partners in Syria.
Earlier this month, the pro-Turkiye fighters seized the strategic northern enclave of Tal Rifaat from Kurdish forces, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.
Ankara sees the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which dominate the SDF, as an offshoot of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Arab-majority Tal Rifaat and Manbij are among three Kurdish-held areas in the north that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had repeatedly threatened to seize.
Blinken to visit Turkiye on Friday to discuss Syria: official source
ANKARA: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Turkiye on Friday to discuss the developments in Syria following the toppling of strongman Bashar Assad, a Turkish official source said Wednesday.
“He will be in Turkiye on Friday,” the source said of the visit which will come just five days after Assad’s unexpected ouster, pledging to share more details “as they are finalized.”
Egyptian foreign minister to visit China this week
- The two countries will hold a foreign ministers’ level strategic dialogue, Mao added
BEIJING: Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty will visit China from Dec. 12-13, Mao Ning, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, told a regular press conference on Wednesday.
The two countries will hold a foreign ministers’ level strategic dialogue, Mao added. The Arab League, an assembly of 22 Middle Eastern and North African nations, including Syria, is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt’s capital.
HTS leader: No reason for the West to fear Syria after Assad’s fall
- Abu Mohammed Al-Golani does not want to start ‘another war’
- ‘Solution’ to Syria’s recovery is ‘absence’ of Assad, Iran’s proxies
DUBAI: The West has no reason to fear Syria following the ousting of Bashar Assad’s regime, Abu Mohammed Al-Golani, leader of the group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), told Sky News on Wednesday.
In his first interview with a Western outlet since Assad fled, Al-Golani insisted that Syria is on a path to stability.
“The fear stemmed from the regime’s presence. Syria is now on a path toward development, reconstruction, and stability,” he said during an interview in Damascus with Sky News’ international news editor, Zein Jaafar, and Middle East producer, Celine Al-Khaldi.
Golani, a former member of the Daesh of Iraq who previously led Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria before severing ties in 2016, is now trying to present himself as a more moderate leader. However, HTS remains designated as a terrorist organization by the UN, US, UK, and other nations.
Despite his reassurances, HTS’s rapid rise to power has fueled fears among Syria’s minorities, including Kurds, Alawites, and Christians.
“The country isn’t ready for another war, nor will it enter one,” Golani stated, emphasizing that Syrians are weary from years of conflict.
He also described the removal of Iranian militias, Hezbollah, and Assad’s regime as essential for Syria’s recovery. “Their absence is the solution. The current situation rules out a return to panic,” he said.
Golani praised his fighters, claiming they took charge of Syria without any foreign support or interference. In a pointed reference to Russian and Iranian backing of the Assad regime, he said all former “colonizers” had failed to control the country.
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