The United States will continue its fight against ISIS and work for stability in Syria following the fall of the Syrian government to rebel forces this weekend, President Joe Biden said.
Describing the situation as one of “risk and uncertainty,” Biden called the fall of Assad a “fundamental act of justice” and called on opposition groups to come together and “seek a role in governing Syria.” Hours earlier, rebel forces captured the capital of Damascus to little resistance, more than 13 years after pro-democracy protests first broke out in March 2011.
Rebel forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (or HTS) captured the Syrian capital in the early hours of Sunday, Dec. 8. As Damascus fell and Assad fled, Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali said that he would transfer power to opposition forces. HTS has said that al-Jalili will supervise the formal transition of state offices to the rebel alliance.
When asked if the United States was in contact with HTS, a senior administration official told reporters on condition of anonymity said that the government is in contact with all kinds of opposition groups inside the country. HTS, formed from a merger of several different opposition groups in Syria in 2017, has governed the Idlib province outside of Assad’s control. Inside its territory it has had strict limits on dissent and limited freedom for religious minorities. As it has quickly taken more territory, HTS’ leadership has pledged to protect religious and ethnic minorities inside the country. Speaking on Sunday, Biden acknowledged the group’s history, but said that it and other rebel factions now in control of the capital are “saying the right things now.”
“Make no mistake, some of the rebel groups that took down Assad have their own grim record of terrorism and human rights abuses,” Biden said.
The fall of Assad’s government presents some risks for regional instability. For years the war has been partly a proxy conflict, with the United States, Turkey, Iran and Russia, among others, backing forces as part of the civil war or to fight against terrorist elements inside the Syrian borders. Despite its collapse against rebel forces, the Syrian military had major weapons and assets that could still pose a threat. The senior administration official also said that the U.S. and its partners are working to account for and secure the Assad regime’s chemical weapons stockpiles.
The United States has approximately 900 troops inside Syria itself, which have been focused on the continued fight against ISIS, mostly in the country’s northeast.
The fall of Assad shifts the balance of power in the region, the administration official said, to one that is “far more aligned with American interests.” Biden stressed that the United States will continue to hunt down the remnants of ISIS and prevent the terror group from reconstituting itself, noting that he authorized a major operation against ISIS this weekend.
This morning, U.S. aircraft including B-52s and A-10s, dropped approximately 140 munitions on more than 75 ISIS targets in the central Syrian desert. U.S. Central Command and the administration said that its goal is to not let ISIS take advantage of the collapse of the regime.
The rapid fall of the Syrian government came after rebel forces were able to quickly seize the major city of Aleppo. Shortly after the groups continued to sweep south, taking Homs and Damascus within days. Rebel forces apparently met little resistance as it entered Damascus. The head of HTS, Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, celebrated the fall of the regime on Sunday. Surrounded by supporters, he visited the historic Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, saying that victory came “not at a low price.”
“We [the Syrian people] are the rightful owners [of this country]. We have been fighting, and today we have been rewarded with this victory,” he said.
The United States and allies consider HTS to be a terrorist organization. The group, and al-Julani, emerged out of the Nusra Front, al-Qaida’s Syrian affiliate. However it broke with al-Qaida and other elements, merging with other anti-Assad groups including parts of the Free Syrian Army, to form HTS in 2017. The administration official described it as an “umbrella” group. Defectors from the group have formed into Hurras al-Din, a group the United States has targeted in military operations.
As the rebel forces seized government territory, many of the prisons used by the regime to detain political prisoners, rebels and other dissidents were opened, releasing many who had been detained for years. Thousands were kept in these prisons, which are notorious for their cruelty towards inmates, with confirmed reports of torture and executions.
As for the dictator, Russian state media claims that Assad is currently in Moscow and has been granted asylum. Assad’s Baathist party has ruled Syria for more than 60 years. Assad took power in 2000, following the death of his father Hafez al-Assad.
The war in Syria started as pro-democracy protests in early 2011, inspired by the successful revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt. The Assad government rejected calls for reforms, with troops and police violently responding to protests. Civil war broke out as military units defected over the response, and in the more than decade since, foreign fighters and terrorist groups have joined in, along with forces from Russia, Hezbollah and other pro-Iran groups. The latter helped Assad maintain control over the capital for years. In the wave of rebel victories, Russian troops have largely pulled out of the country. More than 600,000 people are believed to have died in the civil war, with millions displaced.
U.S. forces have remained active in Syria hunting ISIS fighters and leaders. Alongside SDF partners, it has launched a series of major raids and airstrikes on ISIS camps in central and eastern Syria in recent months. American troops have also engaged in direct combat against pro-Assad forces, from a major battle against them and Russian mercenaries near Deir Ezzor to recent strikes after three Americans were injured by rocket fire.
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