Syria‘s New Authority Agrees to Disarm Rebels, Integrate Them into Regular Army
In a significant development, Syria’s new leaders announced on Tuesday that they have reached an agreement with rebel groups for their disarmament and integration into the regular army. State news agency SANA reported that the accord was reached "on the basis of an understanding for the dismantling of all groups and their integration into the ministry of defense."
The agreement, which comes after years of conflict that have ravaged the country, does not, however, include representatives of Kurdish-controlled forces that control areas in northwest Syria.
SANA stated that the meeting resulted in "an agreement on the full disarmament of all groups and their integration under the supervision of the Ministry of Defense."
The Syrian leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, had already announced on Sunday that the new authorities would not allow the possession of weapons outside government control. He also emphasized that this applied to Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
The Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which ousted President Bashar al-Assad‘s regime, has its military commander indicating in talks with Agence France-Presse that Kurdish-controlled territories would be absorbed into a unified Syria under the new authority.
The 13-year conflict has claimed more than half a million lives and divided the country into various zones of influence controlled by different armed groups, backed by regional and global powers.
25,000 Syrian Refugees Return from Turkey
Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, more than 25,000 Syrians have returned to their homeland from Turkey, interior minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Tuesday. Turkey currently hosts nearly three million Syrian refugees who fled their country due to the civil war since 2011.
An estimated 25,000 people have returned to Syria in the past two weeks, Yerlikaya reported. Ankara has maintained close ties with the new Syrian leadership, hopeful that the political shift could allow many Syrian refugees to return to their homes. The refugee crisis has posed significant challenges for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government.
Turkey’s newfound relationship with the Syrian authorities has seen the opening of a diplomatic mission in Damascus just a week after opposition forces ousted Assad’s regime. Yerlikaya announced the establishment of migration departments at the Turkish embassy in Damascus and the consulate in Aleppo to manage the repatriation process.
Turkey’s role in Syria’s political landscape has been_a significant factor in the years-long conflict. With the recent changes, it appears that Ankara is seeking to capitalize on the power shift to address its own refugee crisis.
