DAMASCUS:
Kuwait’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Al-Yahya met Syria’s new leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa in Damascus on Monday. Al-Yahya, accompanied by GCC Secretary General Jasem Al-Budaiwi, arrived in the Syrian capital heading a high-level delegation to Syria within the framework of GCC ministerial council recommendations of guaranteeing Syria’s independence, sovereignty and unity, a message of support to the Syrian people’s will. Kuwait is the current chair of the ministerial council.
Also on Monday, the first Kuwaiti planeload of relief supplies headed from Abdullah Al-Mubarak Air Base to Syria. Loaded with 20 million tons of food, mattresses and blankets, the cargo is destined for those most in need in Syria, as part of the humanitarian campaign “Kuwait by Your Side.”
Chairperson of the Kuwait Red Crescent Society Ambassador Khaled Al-Maghames said in a statement that the relief supplies were dispatched upon orders of HH the Amir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. He affirmed that the aid effort was intended to demonstrate solidarity with the Syrian people and alleviate hardships of people in need. The aid will be delivered to the Syrian authorities for distribution.
The new authorities in Damascus, from the ranks of Islamist-led rebels who until several weeks ago had fought to overthrow longtime ruler Bashar Al-Assad, now face the daunting task of rebuilding state institutions. The Syrian army has effectively collapsed, much like other institutions set up by the Assad clan and their notorious security apparatuses.
The new leadership last week unveiled an accord to dissolve the myriad of armed groups operating in Syria and integrate them into the defense ministry, and has now named some prospective army officers. A decree published late Sunday on the Telegram account of Sharaa’s General Command listed 49 people to be made commanders, in the first such announcement since the fall of the Assad government on Dec 8.
It said the appointments were part of efforts aimed at “the development and modernization of the military… in order to guarantee security and stability”. The names include former rebels, some from Sharaa’s Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), as well as ex-army officers who had deserted to join the opposition in the early days of Syria’s civil war.
Haid Haid, consulting fellow at Britain-based think tank Chatham House, said that “the top seven highest ranks of those promoted seem to be all from HTS.” The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said many of those appointed were close to Sharaa, including at least six foreigners either from HTS or aligned with it. In Sunday’s decree, two men were given the rank of general, five were made brigadier generals and around 40 made colonels. One of the generals is HTS’ military chief Murhaf Abu Qasra, who has been tipped to become defense minister in the transitional government.
In an interview Sunday with Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television, Sharaa admitted that so far government positions went solely HTS members of people close to the group. However, the leader promised “broader participation” in the future. The majority of Syrians named in the military decree come from HTS, with the rest from “allied factions”, according to the Britain-based Observatory which has a network of sources inside Syria.
The monitor said it had identified six “foreign jihadists” among those promoted, including an Albanian, a Jordanian, a Tajik, a Turk and a Uyghur who is a member of jihadist group the Turkistan Islamic Party. Aymenn Al-Tamimi, an expert on jihadist groups and the Syrian conflict, said he too had identified foreigners on the list. He mentioned a Uyghur, a Jordanian and a Turk who “headed the block of Turkish fighters under HTS, and is now a brigadier general”.
Tamimi said that the inclusion of foreign fighters appears to be in line with HTS’ doctrine. “One of the founding principles of (Hayat) Tahrir al-Sham is that the group would not betray or surrender muhajirin to their home countries,” he said, using the Arabic term for foreign fighters. “But at the same time, it could be a problem if they’re just left there to their own devices,” said Tamimi. “So integrating them into the new Syrian order is the best strategy that meets both ends.” – Agencies
