By Alexandra Sharp
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the road ahead for Syria’s new leaders, Haitian gangs killing more than 180 people, and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s dwindling hold on power.
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An Insurgent-Led Government
Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the leader of Syria’s Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, addresses a crowd at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus on Dec. 8.Aref Tammawi/AFP via Getty Images
Following the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday, Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said on Monday that the government is coordinating with the insurgents who took control of Damascus over the weekend. “We are working so that the transitional period is quick and smooth,” Jalali told Sky News Arabia TV, adding that he is ready to meet rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani.
Rebel forces began a surprise campaign across Syria late last month that culminated in the overthrow of Assad, whose 24 years in power were largely defined by the nation’s 13-year civil war and allegations of widespread human rights abuses. The city is “free of the tyrant Bashar al-Assad,” the insurgents declared upon taking the capital.
Moscow granted Assad political asylum on Sunday, though Russian President Vladimir Putin is not planning on meeting with the former leader in the near future, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. Moscow had been a longtime supporter of Assad’s regime.
The Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led by Sharaa, now controls the capital. In recent years, Sharaa has tried to distance himself from his past ties to al Qaeda, which experts suggest may be why he has begun using his real name in official communications over the last week. HTS General Command has promised representative governance and religious tolerance in Syria under rebel rule. On Monday, top HTS officials announced a “general amnesty” for all conscripted Syrian soldiers. They also said, “It is strictly forbidden to interfere with women’s dress or impose any request related to their clothing or appearance, including requests for modesty.”
Although some key government services have shut down due to state workers ignoring calls to return to their offices, Jalali maintains that most cabinet ministers are still working from Damascus. However, delayed services have caused issues delivering humanitarian aid into the country.
Meanwhile, foreign powers are scrambling to adjust to the new political reality in Syria. On Monday, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran had opened a direct line of communication with the country’s new leadership. “The main concern for Iran is whether Assad’s successor will push Syria away from Tehran’s orbit,” a second Iranian official said. “That is a scenario Iran is keen to avoid.” Syria provides Iran with access to the Mediterranean Sea as well as the Israeli and Lebanese borders, which Tehran uses to arm and supply Hezbollah and Hamas militants. A hostile post-Assad regime would deprive Iran’s proxy groups of these key routes.
Israel seized a demilitarized buffer zone in Syrian-controlled areas of the Golan Heights over the weekend, and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced on Monday that Israel had launched airstrikes at suspected chemical weapons sites and long-range rockets in Syria “in order that they not fall into the hands of extremists.” Syria agreed to give up its chemical weapons stockpile in 2013 but is widely believed to have kept some of these materials. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes inside Syria in recent years, targeting alleged military sites related to Iran and its proxies.
The United States also remains concerned about extremist groups using Syria’s volatile situation to gain power. On Sunday, U.S. Central Command ordered “dozens” of airstrikes on more than 75 Islamic State targets to ensure that the militant group “does not seek to take advantage of the current situation to reconstitute in central Syria.”
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Today’s Most Read
The World This Week
Tuesday, Dec. 10: The 2024 Nobel Prizes are awarded in Stockholm.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to begin testifying over allegations of fraud, bribery, and breach of trust.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hosts Moldovan President Maia Sandu.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hosts Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits Cyprus.
Wednesday, Dec. 11: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken appears before a hearing at the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres visits South Africa.
Thursday, Dec. 12: Starmer hosts new European Council President António Costa.
Guterres visits Lesotho.
Friday, Dec. 13: G-7 leaders hold a virtual summit.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hosts Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Saturday, Dec. 14: Georgia is expected to hold an indirect presidential election.
Meloni hosts Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
What We’re Following
Massacre in Haiti. Armed gangs killed more than 180 people in Haiti’s Cité Soleil area over the weekend, according to the interim prime minister’s office on Monday. Port-au-Prince and the National Human Rights Defense Network accused gang leader Monel “Mikano” Felix of ordering the attack after suspecting that witchcraft had made his child ill. Many of those killed were older adults, as a voodoo priest whom Felix sought advice from accused them of being behind the sorcery.
“A red line has been crossed,” the prime minister’s office said, adding that it will “mobilize all forces to track down and annihilate” those responsible. Violent gangs control much of Haiti, including 80 percent of the nation’s capital. The latest killings bring the country’s total death toll to 5,000 people this year, U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said on Monday. More than 700,000 people have fled Haiti due to the violence, and almost half of the country’s 11.7 million people face hunger.
No more travel. South Korean authorities banned President Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday from leaving the country after he narrowly avoided an impeachment motion over the weekend. On Saturday, all but one member of Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP) boycotted the vote to prevent the National Assembly from obtaining the necessary quorum—just hours after Yoon publicly apologized for ordering martial law last Tuesday.
The country’s opposition has argued that the travel ban will grant prosecutors time to weigh possible insurrection charges against Yoon. These allegations are separate from the impeachment vote and could also have dire consequences for Yoon’s rule, as presidential immunity does not extend to the crime of insurrection.
Lawmakers on both sides have urged Yoon to resign from his post, with many suggesting that Yoon’s executive powers should be suspended to avoid placing the country in “grave danger.” On Sunday, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said he would manage government affairs until Yoon steps down, and PPP leader Han Dong-hoon said Yoon would be excluded from foreign and state proceedings in the interim.
Combat readiness. Taipei raised its alert level to “high” on Monday following reports that China had deployed nearly 90 naval and coast guard vessels to territories around Taiwan. The ships were allegedly sent near Japan’s southern islands as well as the East and South China Seas. Beijing also reserved airspace in seven areas to the east of its Fujian and Zhejiang provinces until Wednesday, hinting at future military exercises.
China does not recognize Taiwanese sovereignty. Experts believe that Beijing’s recent military maneuvers are in response to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s weeklong tour of the South Pacific last week, in which he visited Tuvalu, the U.S. territory of Guam, the U.S. state of Hawaii, the Marshall Islands, and Palau. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry announced on Monday that it had also started combat readiness exercises “to counter PLA activities,” referring to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
Odds and Ends
King Charles III has revealed in the new documentary Coronation Girls that his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, once wore her crown while giving her children a bath to “get used to how heavy” it was ahead of her 1953 coronation. St. Edward’s Crown weighs nearly 5 pounds; it consists of a 22-karat solid gold frame decorated with 444 gemstones.
Ah, the royals. They’re just like us.
Last Friday’s newsletter misstated the percentage required for the European Union to pass a free trade deal with Mercosur.
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