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Rebel forces that ousted Bashar al-Assad sought to consolidate their control of Syria on Monday, amid fears that regime change in Damascus could fuel regional instability.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a former branch of al-Qaeda, issued a general amnesty for conscripted members of Assad’s army, as government authorities ordered the continuation of public services and activities in the economically vital oil sector.
“Let us be one hand in building a new Syria,” said the public works ministry, which like other government departments has now adopted the three-star flag long used by rebels.
Prime Minister Mohamad Ghazi al-Jalali, who served under Assad, said his government team was seeking a smooth and short transition of power, adding that most of his ministers were in their offices.
On Monday, HTS released a video of the meeting with Jalali its leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani. With them was Mohamed al-Bashir, the head of the HTS de facto government in Idlib province, who is a possible candidate for the interim prime minister.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said the military operations department of HTS, which led various rebel factions in overthrow the Assad dynasty on Sunday, now providing “necessary protection” for workers to return to oil facilities.
But Adam Abdelmoula, the UN’s Syria coordinator, also told The Associated Press that the public sector “just came to a complete and abrupt halt.”
The Ministry of Health has urged workers in the private and public sectors to return to work, even during the curfew now in effect between 4pm and 5am in Damascus.
The official said public transport in the city would resume at 8am on Tuesday, but all flights to and from Damascus and Aleppo airports remained suspended, while some border crossings were unmanned.
Crowds of people gathered at the notorious Saydnaya prison on the outskirts of Damascus on Monday in an attempt to track down long-lost loved ones.
Syrians are hoping for a relatively smooth transition after more than half a century of rule by the Assad family and nearly 14 years of civil war in the strategically vital country.
But the Middle East is still haunted by the chaos that followed regime change in countries like Libya and Iraq, where Saddam Hussein’s army was disbanded.
A number of countries – both opponents and supporters of Assad – have expressed concern that the fall of the regime could lead to further instability in the fractured Arab state, which is home to many armed factions, and in the region.
At least four large explosions were heard in Damascus on Monday evening, following airstrikes earlier in the day and over the weekend.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said his country is attacking suspected chemical weapons sites in Syria in an effort to destroy the Assad regime’s capabilities before they fall into rebel hands.
Germany, Austria, Finland, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and Great Britain said Monday they were suspending theirs processing Syrian asylum applications.
While HTS is listed as a terrorist movement by the US, the EU, the UK and Turkey, Geir Pedersen, the UN’s special envoy for Syria, told the Financial Times that international powers seeking a peaceful transition in the country would have to consider removing the tag.
US State Department spokesman Matt Miller, when asked about possible contact with HTS, said: “We have the ability to work with organizations that are designated . . . We always want to see groups that we have sanctioned go the other way.”
Amid the upheaval, the US has carried out dozens of strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria as Turkey-backed Syrian fighters have battled Kurdish forces in the country’s north.
Russia, which maintains naval and air bases in Syria and has gave asylum to Assadhe said he was “doing everything he could to get in touch” with the country’s new rulers and ensure the site’s security.
Israel said it was continuing to conquer “the heights” inside Syria, moving tanks and infantry in and out of the previously demilitarized buffer zone.
The pressure was condemned “in the strongest possible terms” by Egypt, which said it amounted to an “occupation of Syrian land” and a “grave violation” of the 1974 ceasefire agreement. Qatar added that “it is a fait accompli . . . will lead the region to further violence and tensions”.
Israeli commandos also captured a strategic Syrian army position on the highest point of the Golan Heights, known as Jabal al-Shaykh.
The country has occupied most of the Golan Heights since it was seized from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed in 1981, although its claim to the land is not internationally recognized.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a visit to the border on Sunday that the 1974 agreement had “failed” after Syrian army units left their positions and Israeli forces took them over “to ensure that no hostile forces are installed right next to the border of Israel”. .
Additional reporting by Felicia Schwartz in Washington
