A fighter affiliated with the new Syrian administration uses a bayonet on a portrait of the ousted president Bashar al-Assad, in the former military prison of Mazzeh in Damascus, on Jan. 2, 2025. (Credit: Anwar Amro/AFP)
Calls for calm were heard from the very first moments. Just a few days after the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad, the new prime minister of the transitional government, Mohammad al-Bashir, called on Syrians from the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus to seek justice without revenge. However, for more than three weeks now, reports of sporadic abuses attributed to elements of the former regime or rebel groups have been multiplying. While sometimes exaggerated or manipulated by figures loyal to the deposed president to create discord within the population, these reports highlight the challenge for the new forces in power to restore order in a divided Syria. Following the fire, shortly before Christmas, of a Christmas tree in Souqaylabiya, near Hama, by rebels belonging to the jihadist group Ansar al-Tawhid, according to the Syrian...
Calls for calm were heard from the very first moments. Just a few days after the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad, the new prime minister of the transitional government, Mohammad al-Bashir, called on Syrians from the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus to seek justice without revenge. However, for more than three weeks now, reports of sporadic abuses attributed to elements of the former regime or rebel groups have been multiplying. While sometimes exaggerated or manipulated by figures loyal to the deposed president to create discord within the population, these reports highlight the challenge for the new forces in power to restore order in a divided Syria. Following the fire, shortly before Christmas, of a Christmas tree in Souqaylabiya, near Hama, by rebels belonging to the jihadist group Ansar al-Tawhid, according to the Syrian...