G7 to meet on Syria, govt pledges 'rule of law'

DAMASCUS - G7 leaders will meet virtually Friday to discuss the momentous changes underway in Syria, where the interim government has vowed to institute the "rule of law" after years of abuses under ousted president Bashar al-Assad.

Assad fled Syria after a lightning offensive spearheaded by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and its allies, which brought a sudden end to five decades of repressive rule by his clan.

Syrians across the country and around the world erupted in celebration after enduring an era in which suspected dissidents were jailed or killed, and nearly 14 years of war that killed more than 500,000 people and displaced millions.

The United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA said Thursday that 1.1 million people, mostly women and children, had been displaced since the rebels launched their offensive on November 27.

The new government's spokesman told AFP on Thursday that the country's constitution and parliament would be suspended during a three-month transition.

"A judicial and human rights committee will be established to examine the constitution and then introduce amendments," Obaida Arnaout said.

Speaking at the state television headquarters, seized by the new rebel authorities, Arnaout said they would institute the "rule of law".

"All those who committed crimes against the Syrian people will be judged in accordance with the law," he added.

Asked about religious and personal freedoms, Arnaout said: "We respect religious and cultural diversity in Syria".

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on a visit to Turkey, urged Syrian actors to take "all feasible steps to protect civilians, including members of minority groups", State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

 

- Warning against 'additional conflicts' -

 

Speaking earlier Thursday in Jordan, Blinken stressed the importance of "not sparking any additional conflicts".

He made the comments after mentioning recent Israeli and Turkish military activity on Syrian soil.

Washington hopes to ensure that Syria is not "used as a base for terrorism" and does not pose "a threat to its neighbours", added Blinken, whose country has hundreds of troops in Syria as part of a coalition against Islamic State group jihadists.

This has been a concern both for Turkey, which resents the US military alliance with Syrian Kurds, and Israel, which has been pounding military sites across its historic adversary since Assad fell.

UN chief Antonio Guterres is "particularly concerned" by the Israeli strikes, his spokesman said.

On Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor reported Israeli strikes near Damascus, where AFP correspondents said they heard loud explosions.

Leaders of the Group of Seven democratic powers, whose virtual meeting is scheduled for 1430 GMT Friday, said they were ready to support the transition to an "inclusive and non-sectarian" government in Syria.

They called for the protection of human rights, including those of women and minorities, while emphasising "the importance of holding the Assad regime accountable for its crimes".

 

- UN list of perpetrators -

 

On Thursday, hundreds of Syrians buried outspoken activist Mazen al-Hamada, who in the Netherlands had publicly testified on the torture he faced while in prison in Syria.

He later returned, and his body was among more than 30 found in a Damascus hospital morgue this week.

The joy sparked by Assad's overthrow has been accompanied by uncertainty about the future of the multi-ethnic, multi-faith country.

Sunni Muslim HTS is rooted in Syria's branch of Al-Qaeda and designated a terrorist organisation by many Western governments, though it has sought to moderate its rhetoric.

The new rulers have also pledged justice for the victims of Assad's rule.

HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, now using his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa, urged "countries to hand over any of those criminals who may have fled so they can be brought to justice".

UN investigators said they have compiled secret lists of 4,000 perpetrators of serious crimes in Syria since the early days of the country's civil war.

The US Justice Department on Thursday charged the former head of Damascus Central Prison, Samir Ousman Alsheikh, with torturing opponents of Assad.

The Syrian leadership said it was ready to cooperate with Washington to look for US citizens disappeared under Assad, including on an "ongoing" search for US journalist Austin Tice, who was abducted in 2012.

The top US diplomat also said Washington was "working to bring home" American Travis Timmerman, after Syria's leadership announced he had been released.

 

- 'Remaining hopeful' -

 

The UN's World Food Programme called for $250 million for food assistance for displaced and vulnerable people in Syria over the next six months.

Jordan announced it will host a Syria crisis summit on Saturday that will include foreign ministers from numerous Western and Arab nations as well as Turkey.

After Assad's Baath party, a feared instrument of repression, on Wednesday announced suspension of its activities, members like Maher Semsmieh, 43, turned in their weapons -- and turned on the party.

"We are no longer Baathists," he said with a smile, explaining people had been "obliged" to belong.

Assad was propped up by Russia -- where a senior Russian official told US media he had fled -- as well as Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group.

The rebels launched their offensive on November 27, the same day a ceasefire took effect in the Israel-Hezbollah war, which saw Israel inflict staggering losses on Assad's Lebanese ally.

Israel on Sunday said it had ordered troops into the UN-patrolled buffer zone that separates Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights, in a move the UN said violated a 1974 armistice.

In the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, seized from Syria in 1967 and later annexed in a move not recognised by most of the international community, many Druze Arab residents said they hoped for a return to Syrian control.

"I don't think anything worse than his regime could exist," Talal Abu Saleh, 69, told AFP of Assad.

"There is always uncertainty, but I insist on remaining hopeful."