This handout image made available by the Telegram channel of the official Syrian Arab News Agency shows Syria's new transitional prime minister Mohammad al-Bashir chairing a meeting of the new cabinet in Damascus, December 10, 2024. /CFP
This handout image made available by the Telegram channel of the official Syrian Arab News Agency shows Syria's new transitional prime minister Mohammad al-Bashir chairing a meeting of the new cabinet in Damascus, December 10, 2024. /CFP
Syria's new interim leader announced on Tuesday he was taking charge of the country as caretaker prime minister with the backing of the former rebels who toppled President Bashar al-Assad three days ago.
In a brief address on state television, Mohammed al-Bashir, a figure little known across most of Syria who previously ran an administration in a pocket of the northwest controlled by rebels, said he would lead the interim authority until March 1.
"Today we held a cabinet meeting that was under the headline of transferring the files and institutions to caretake the government," he said.
In the Syrian capital, banks reopened for the first time since Assad's ousting. Shops were also opening again, traffic returned to the roads, cleaners were out sweeping the streets and there were fewer armed men about.
Two sources close to the rebels said their command had ordered fighters to withdraw from cities, and for police and internal security forces affiliated with the main rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Shams (HTS) to deploy there.
HTS is a former al-Qaeda affiliate that led the anti-Assad revolt and has lately downplayed its jihadist roots.
**Ceasefire in the north**
A ceasefire has been reached between the U.S.-backed Kurdish Syrian forces (SDF) and Türkiye-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), two rebel groups that control separate territory aside from that of HTS, after days of fighting for the control of the northern city of Manbij through a U.S. mediation, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi said early on Wednesday.
"The fighters of the Manbij Military Council, who have been resisting the attacks since November 27, will withdraw from the area as soon as possible," Abdi added.
The ceasefire came after an earlier agreement between the U.S. and Türkiye to ensure the safe withdrawal of the SDF from Manbij, which it had been holding, after an advance of Türkiye-backed groups.
The SDF is the main ally in a U.S. coalition against Islamic State militants. Türkiye says it is spearheaded by a terrorist group closely tied to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have fought the Turkish state for 40 years.
**Israeli strikes**
Israel's military said on Tuesday it had struck "most" of Syria's advanced weapons in 350 airstrikes across the country, including in Damascus, over the past 48 hours.
In addition, missile vessels struck the Syrian naval facilities of Al-Bayda and Latakia ports, where 15 Syrian naval vessels were docked.
The strikes dismantled "most of the strategic weapons stockpiles in Syria," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement, adding that the aim was to prevent those weapons from "falling into the hands of terrorist elements."
On Tuesday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video statement from the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, expressed a desire for ties with Syria's new government.
However, he warned that if the new leadership "allows Iran to re-establish itself in Syria, or allows the transfer of Iranian weapons, or weapons of any kind, to Hezbollah, or attacks us – we will respond forcefully, and we will exact a heavy price."
Following Assad's flight on Sunday, Israeli troops moved into the demilitarized zone inside Syria created after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, including the Syrian side of the strategic Mount Hermon that overlooks Damascus, where it took over an abandoned Syrian military post.
A military spokesperson said Israeli troops remained in the buffer zone as well as "a few additional points" in the vicinity.
But he denied that forces had penetrated Syrian territory significantly beyond the area, after a Syrian source said they had reached the town of Qatana, several kilometers to the east of the zone and just a short drive from Damascus airport.
The Israeli incursion has been condemned by Türkiye, Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for Syria Geir Pedersen on Tuesday urged Israel to cease its military operations in Syria.
"A very troubling development is that we are continuing to see Israeli movements and bombardments into Syrian territory. This needs to stop," Pedersen said at a press conference.
(With input from Reuters, Xinhua)