Mohammad al-Bashir named head of Syria’s transitional gov’t
The militants who ousted president Bashar al-Assad and are now in power in Syria appointed a transitional head of government Tuesday to run the country until March 1, a statement said.
“The general command has tasked us with running the transitional government until March 1,” said a statement attributed to Mohammad al-Bashir on state television’s Telegram account, referring to him as “the new Syrian prime minister.”
Assad left Syria on Sunday as militants swept into the capital Damascus, ending five decades of rule by his family.
Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the leader who headed the offensive, had announced talks on a transfer of power and vowed to pursue former senior officials responsible for alleged torture and war crimes.
The UN envoy for Syria said the groups that forced Assad to flee must transform their “good messages” into actions on the ground.
“They have been sending messages of unity, of inclusiveness,” Geir Pedersen said, adding that in Aleppo and Hama, “We have also seen... reassuring things on the ground”.
The country now faces profound uncertainty after the collapse the government.
Jolani held talks on Monday with outgoing prime minister Mohammed al-Jalali “to coordinate a transfer of power that guarantees the provision of services” to Syria’s people.
Many countries have cautiously reacted to the developments in Syria after the militant group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which is rooted in Syria’s Al-Qaeda branch and is proscribed by many Western governments as a terrorist organization, took over the country.
Iran, which has supported the ousted government against terrorists in recent years, said it is closely watching developments and is eagerly awaiting to see the behavior and performance of the opposition groups before deciding on an approach to Syria.
Japan’s ‘grave concern’
Japan’s Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi in a statement on Monday also said his country is closely following the developments in Syria with grave concern.
“Japan strongly hopes that the violence in Syria will cease as soon as possible and that all Syrians will be able to enjoy their fundamental human rights, dignity, freedom, and prosperity.”
He said that the future of Syria, which holds significant importance for achieving peace and stability throughout the entire Middle East region, should be determined by the Syrian people themselves. Iwaya said that Japan looks forward to a peaceful and stable transition of power in Syria.