New Syria government takes charge, urging 'stability'

Syrian rebel leaders Mohammed al-Bashir and Ahmed al-Sharaa — Syrian rebel leaders Mohammed al-Bashir and Abu Mohammed al-Jolani (Image credit: Omar Haj Kadour / AFP via Getty Images)

What happened

The rebel forces that ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad on Sunday announced an interim government Tuesday. Mohammed al-Bashir (pictured above, left), who ran the rebel alliance's "salvation government" in its Idlib province stronghold, said on state TV he would lead the country as caretaker prime minister until March 1. He was pictured leading a Cabinet meeting with his Idlib governing team, rebel leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa — also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani (above, right) — and several Assad holdovers, including outgoing Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali.

Who said what

"Now it is time for the people to enjoy stability and calm," al-Bashir said to Al Jazeera, per the BBC, in his first interview as prime minister. In Damascus, life is "slowly returning to normal," The Associated Press said, with banks and shops reopening, people returning to work, traffic resuming and cleaners sweeping streets littered with bullet casings.

But "rebuilding Syria will be a colossal task following a civil war that killed hundreds of thousands of people," Reuters said. The terrorist designation of lead rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Western countries is a complicating factor. Al-Sharaa, the HTS leader, said on Telegram Tuesday per The Guardian that the new government "will not relent in holding accountable the criminals, murderers and security and military officers involved in torturing the Syrian people," but would grant amnesty to rank-and-file conscripted soldiers.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

What next?

"Even as the former rebels sought to consolidate power," The New York Times said, "Syria's neighbors set out to shore up their own interests." Israel said it had struck more than 350 sites to destroy Assad's conventional and chemical weapon stockpiles, occupied a buffer zone inside Syria and destroyed its Navy. Turkey and its proxy forces advanced on U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in northern Syria.

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.