United Nations Security Council members will work on a statement on Syria in the coming days, U.S. and Russian diplomats said on Monday, after a closed-door meeting over the rebel seizure of the capital Damascus and ousting of President Bashar al-Assad.

“The council, I think, was more or less united on the need to preserve the territorial integrity and unity of Syria, to ensure the protection of civilians, to ensure that humanitarian aid is coming to the needy population,” Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters after the 15-member body met.

– Reuters

People celebrate next to a sculpture of Sultan Pasha al-Atrash, a Druze warrior who led a revolt against French rule in 1925, after Syrian rebels announced that they had ousted President Bashar al-Assad, in Majdal Shams, a Druze village in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, on Monday (December 9, 2024).
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Syria’s Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali said on Monday (December 9, 2024) that most Cabinet Ministers are still working from offices in Damascus after militants entered the capital over the weekend and overthrew President Bashar al-Assad. Streams of refugees crossed in from neighbouring countries, hoping for a more peaceful future.

However, there were already signs of the difficulties ahead for the militant alliance now in control of much of the country, which is led by Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, a former senior al-Qaeda militant who severed ties with the extremist group years ago and formed Hayat Tahrir al-Sham which leads the militant coalition that stormed Damascus. He has promised representative government and religious tolerance.

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The militant commander said on Monday (December 9, 2024) they would not tell women how to dress.

Israel said it is carrying out air strikes on suspected chemical weapons sites and long-range rockets to keep them from falling into the hands of extremists. Israel has also seized a buffer zone inside Syria after Syrian troops withdrew.

In northern Syria, Turkiye said allied opposition forces seized the town of Manbij from Kurdish-led forces backed by the U.S., a reminder that even after Mr. Assad’s departure to Russia, the country remains split among armed groups that have fought in the past.

The Kremlin said Russia had granted political asylum to Mr. Assad, a decision made by President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on Mr. Assad’s specific whereabouts and said Mr. Putin was not planning to meet with him.

Damascus was quiet on Monday (December 9, 2024), with life slowly returning to normal while most shops and public institutions were closed. In some areas, small groups of armed men were stationed in the streets.

Mr. Jalali, who remained in his post after Mr. Assad and most of his top officials vanished over the weekend, has sought to project normalcy. “We are working so that the transitional period is quick and smooth,” he told Sky News Arabia TV.

The militants, meanwhile, said they would guarantee personal freedoms and would not impose Islamic dress on women.

Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the militant leader whose stunning insurgency toppled Syria’s President Bashar Assad, has spent years working to remake his public image, renouncing longtime ties to al-Qaida and depicting himself as a champion of pluralism and tolerance. As he entered Damascus behind his victorious fighters Sunday, he even dropped his nom de guerre and referred to himself with his real name, Ahmad al-Sharaa.

The extent of that transformation from jihadi extremist to would-be state builder is now put to the test.

AP