Syria's new head announces plan to disband armed factions

The leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and de facto head of Syria’s new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has pledged to disband all Syrian factions, declaring that “no weapons will exist outside the authority of the Syrian state”.

Meanwhile, on December 14, the United States said that it had made contact with HTS, despite the US having designated the group as “terrorist” in 2018, Caliber.Az reports citing Arab media.

“We’ve been in contact with HTS and with other parties,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters, without specifying how the contact took place.

Blinken and other diplomats from the Arab states and Turkiye held talks on Syria in Aqaba, Jordan, on December 14.

In a joint statement, they called for a Syrian-led transition to “produce an inclusive, non-sectarian and representative government formed through a transparent process”, with respect for human rights.

On December 8, opposition fighters entered Damascus, causing government forces to withdraw from the city. Following these developments, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad left office and fled the country to Moscow where Russian President Vladimir Putin had personally granted him and his family asylum.

By Khagan Isayev