New Syria PM says all religious groups' rights 'guaranteed'

AFP | Damascus, Syria

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

Syria's new prime minister said the Islamist-led alliance that ousted president Bashar al-Assad will "guarantee" the rights of all religious groups and called on the millions who fled the war to return home.

Assad fled Syria after a lightning offensive spearheaded by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and its allies, which brought to a spectacular end five decades of brutal rule by his clan.

Syrians across the country and around the world erupted in celebration, after enduring a stifling five decades that saw anyone suspected of dissent thrown into jail or killed.

With Assad's overthrow plunging Syria into the unknown, its new rulers have sought to assure members of the country's religious minorities that they will not repress them. HTS is rooted in Syria's branch of Al-Qaeda and is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by many Western governments, though it has sought to moderate its rhetoric.

"Precisely because we are Islamic, we will guarantee the rights of all people and all sects in Syria," said Mohammad al-Bashir, whom the rebels appointed as the transitional head of government.

Asked whether Syria's new constitution would be Islamic, he told Italian daily Corriere della Sera that "we will clarify all these details during the constituent process".

Bashir, whose appointment was announced Tuesday, is tasked with heading the multi-ethnic, multi-sectarian country until March 1.

After decades of iron-fisted rule by the Assads -- adherents of the minority Alawite offshoot of Shiite Islam -- Syrians now face the enormous challenge of charting a new course as they emerge from nearly 14 years of war.

Roaming the opulent Damascus home of Assad, Abu Omar felt a sense of giddy defiance being in the residence of the man he said had long oppressed him.

"I am taking pictures, because I am so happy to be here in the middle of his house,"  said the 44-year-old. "I came for revenge. They oppressed us in incredible ways," he added.

Syrians abroad asked to return

Syria’s new transitional prime minister has called for Syrians who have sought refuge abroad to return to their homeland following the ouster of longtime president Bashar al-Assad.

Mohammad al-Bashir, appointed by rebel groups as the transitional head of government to run the country until March, told Italy’s Corriere della Sera daily that one of his first goals was to “bring back the millions of Syrian refugees who are abroad”.

“Their human capital, their experience will allow the country to flourish,” Bashir said in an interview published Wednesday.

“Mine is an appeal to all Syrians abroad: Syria is now a free country that has earned its pride and dignity. Come back. We must rebuild, be reborn, and we need everyone’s help.”