An American diplomat denied that her press conference in Syria was canceled for security reasons, according to AFP.
Earlier on Friday, Rana Hassan, a spokeswoman for U.S. diplomacy in Syria, had cited "security reasons" for the cancellation. A U.S. delegation, including Barbara Leaf, the diplomat responsible for the Middle East, arrived in Damascus on Friday morning to meet with the new Syrian authorities following the fall of the Assad regime.
⚡ The U.S. has ended its reward for information leading to the arrest of Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, who now goes by his real name is Ahmad al-Shaaa, leader of the Syrian group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), according to a U.S. diplomat cited by AFP.
Al-Jolani, listed as a global terrorist since 2013, was previously seen as a key figure in al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate.
The move marks a shift in U.S. policy toward Syria’s new leader, who hosted an American delegation in Damascus for the first time on Friday. Until then, Washington had offered up to $10 million under its "Rewards for Justice" program.
Twenty-one Syrian army officers and soldiers have been arrested in Lebanon after fleeing Syria following the fall of the Assad regime on Dec. 8, sources in the Lebanese Interior Ministry told L'Orient Today. According to these sources, the Lebanese Army's intelligence services handed over the men to the General Security, which is currently conducting the investigation.
To find out more, read Malek Jadah's article here.👈
On Dec. 19, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces "conducted a precision airstrike targeting ISIS leader Abu Youssef, aka Mahmoud, in Deir ez-Zor province in Syria, resulting in the deaths of two ISIS members including Abu Youssef," CENTCOM said in a post on X.
The airstrike "is part of CENTCOM's ongoing commitment to working with our partners in the region to disrupt and undermine terrorist efforts to plan, organize and carry out attacks against civilians and military personnel of the United States, our allies, and our partners throughout the region and beyond," U.S. Central Command added.
The strike "was conducted in an area formerly controlled by the Syrian regime and the Russians," CENTCOM added.
"As previously stated, the United States, working with our allies and partners in the region, will not allow ISIS to take advantage of the current situation in Syria or to reconstitute itself," the statement continued. " ISIS intends to release more than 8,000 of its members currently held in facilities in Syria. We will aggressively target these leaders and members, including those attempting to operate outside of Syria," said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of CENTCOM.
Syria's new leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, more commonly known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, had a "positive" meeting with the visiting U.S. delegation, a Syrian official told AFP.
"The meeting took place and it was positive. And the results will be positive, God willing," added the official, who requested anonymity. This is the first contact between the United States and the new Syrian leaders, who took power after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8.
A press conference planned by a U.S. delegation visiting Damascus has been canceled for "security reasons," a U.S. spokesperson in Syria announced, quoted by AFP.
The delegation, which included Barbara Leaf, the State Department's top Middle East official, arrived in Damascus to meet with the new Syrian authorities after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. The spokesperson, Rana Hassan, did not specify whether the delegation had met with the new leader in Syria, Ahmad al-Sharaa, whose nom de guerre is Abu Mohammad al-Jolani.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for "neutralizing terrorist organizations" in Syria, mentioning the Islamic State group (IS) and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
"It is time to neutralize the terrorist organizations existing in Syria," Erdogan told reporters on his way back from a summit in Cairo. "Daesh, the PKK and their associates, who threaten the survival of Syria, must be eradicated."
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stressed ahead of a visit to Turkey the importance of not "undermining the territorial integrity" of Syria, where pro-Turkish groups are fighting Kurdish forces.
"If we want to achieve peace in the region, we must not undermine the territorial integrity of Syria," she said, quoted in a Foreign Ministry statement. "Syria must not become a plaything of foreign powers, nor an experiment of radical forces."
International sanctions must be "reassessed" to allow for the reconstruction of Syria , said the director general of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a UN agency.
To restore the situation, it will be necessary to "reassess these sanctions" which also target certain members of the interim government and "it will be essential to ensure that the international community is able to collaborate effectively with them," declared the American Amy Pope, during a press conference in Geneva, after her return from Syria.
Women are "absolutely indispensable" for the reconstruction of Syria, Amy Pope added, calling for them to be given "their place in the new society."
"Together with our other U.N. partners, we urge the interim government to continue to empower women, as they will play an absolutely indispensable role in rebuilding the country," she said at a press conference, fearing the negative influence of certain Islamist factions.
A U.S. delegation arrived at the headquarters of the leader of the coalition that has taken power in Syria, in a large hotel in the capital, for the first contact between Washington and the new authorities, AFP journalists noted.
The diplomats, aboard a convoy of 4x4s registered in Jordan and flying the American flag, were to meet the leader of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an organization classified as terrorist by Washington, Ahmad al-Sharaa, whose nom de guerre is Abu Mohammad al-Jolani.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian yesterday called for Syrian unity after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, at a summit of Muslim countries in Cairo in which both are participating. Turkey has always supported the opposition to Assad, unlike Iran, a supporter of Assad.
In his speech, Erdogan, who is on his second trip to Egypt this year, called for reconciliation in Syria, as well as "the restoration of the territorial integrity and unity of Syria." The Iranian president, for his part, stressed that "for more than fourteen months, the Middle East region, particularly Gaza and southern Lebanon, and now ... Syria, has been the target of massive attacks by the usurping Israeli regime."
Two Turkish journalists were killed in northern Syria where they were covering clashes between fighters backed by Turkey on one side and the United States on the other, a Turkish journalists' association and an NGO announced on Friday.
Nazim Dastan and Cihan Bilgin were killed near the Tishrin Dam, about 100 kilometers east of Aleppo, Syria's second city, when their car was hit by an explosion.
The United States doubled its military presence in Syria in recent months as part of operations against the Islamic State group (IS), bringing it to around 2,000, the Pentagon announced yesterday. Washington had claimed for years to have some 900 troops in Syria as part of the international coalition against the jihadist group.
There are now "about 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria" and have been for at least a few months, Pentagon spokesperson Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters, saying he had just received the updated figure.
U.S. diplomats arrived in Syria to meet with the new Syrian authorities, intending to push them to promote unity after 13 years of civil war, the State Department said.
The U.S. envoys will meet with representatives of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an organization classified as a terrorist organization by Washington, and civil society to discuss "their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can support them," a State Department spokesperson said.
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