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The rebel leader who overthrew Bashar al-Assad in Syria has vowed to pursue “war criminals” in the ousted regime as he seeks to consolidate his control over the country.
Abu Muhammad al-Julani, the leader of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, which was affiliated with al-Qaeda, said: “We will not hesitate to hold accountable the criminals, murderers, and army and security officers involved in torturing the Syrian people.” This was stated in a statement published on the rebels’ social media sites on Tuesday.
He added: “We will pursue war criminals and demand that they return to the countries to which they fled.” Leo in the last days He left for MoscowWhich supported him in the country's 13-year civil war.
Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham seeks to… Strengthen its control Syria amid fears that regime change in Damascus could lead to regional instability. The group issued a general amnesty to recruits into Assad's army. State agencies ordered the resumption of public services and activity in the economically vital oil sector.
Intense bombardment continued on Damascus in the early hours of Tuesday morning, and smoke could be seen rising over the capital at sunrise. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday that Israel launched air strikes targeting sites suspected of containing chemical weapons in an attempt to destroy the capabilities of the Assad regime before they fall into the hands of opposition fighters.
As Assad's army has dissolved over the past two weeks, Syrian fighters and civilians have opened his regime's notorious prisons, freed captives, including political prisoners who had been imprisoned for decades, and uncovered more evidence of torture cells.
Noting that the rebels suspect that not all of these prisons have been found, they have called on the public to provide information about the “secret prisons.” Al-Julani also said that his administration would publish a list of names of regime officials complicit in torture, and rewards would be offered for information on prominent figures in the military and security forces “involved in war crimes.”
Leader of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which led Drop the systemHe renewed the amnesty for military conscripts.
Opposition groups opened so-called settlement centers and asked members of the regime to advance to them.
The rebels appeared keen on a smooth transition of power, seeking to retain Syrian state institutions and calling on civil servants to return to their work. They also tried to limit looting and protect national property.
As part of this attempt at an orderly handover, Assad's prime minister, Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali, sat on Monday with al-Julani and members of the Syrian Salvation Government, which previously ruled the northwestern enclave of Idlib.
But after a Half a century of brutal rule By the Assad family, including 13 years of bitter civil war, many Syrians are determined to achieve justice for their oppressors.
International courts also prosecuted figures affiliated with the regime. In 2020, a Paris court sentenced Bashar al-Assad’s uncle, Rifaat al-Assad, to four years in prison on charges of money laundering and tax fraud. In the same year, Germany launched a war crimes case against a former Syrian colonel.
