Latest news with #Baathist
Newsweek
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
US Ally in Syria Issues Warning as Violence Stalls Trump-Backed Deal
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A top representative of the United States' closest ally in Syria has shared with Newsweek an appeal for a major change in course on the part of the country's new government as yet another round of deadly clashes involving minority factions further undermined hopes for unity. The bloodshed, which reportedly saw more than 1,000 killed among Druze militias, Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribal fighters, Syrian state security forces and civilians, including a U.S. citizen, over eight days in the Al-Sweida region, is the latest sectarian violence to rock the war-torn nation following the collapse of more than half a century of Baathist rule in December. Druze leadership and the Syrian transitional government, led by former Islamist militant leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, have accused one another of wrongdoing throughout the latest round of fighting and previous clashes. For President Donald Trump's administration, it marked a new setback in the effort to align Damascus and the United States' decade-long partner in Syria, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which leads a self-governing territory in the northeast. The SDF has condemned the government's actions in Al-Sweida and on the west coast, where militias tied to the government were accused in March of targeting another minority sect, the Alawites. "What happened in the coast and in Sweida makes Damascus untrustworthy among all segments of society," Sinam Mohamad, a representative of the SDF's political wing, the Syrian Democratic Council, in Washington, D.C., told Newsweek. "A truly impartial investigation committee must be formed to uncover and document these violations and identify those involved to hold them accountable," she said. "This will be the first and most important step for Damascus towards establishing trust." Newsweek reached out to the Syrian Information Ministry and U.S. Central Command for comment. A member of Syrian Democratic Forces (L) and a member of the Syrian Transitional Government's Public Security Forces at the location of a prisoner exchange between the two sides in Aleppo, Syria, on April 3,... A member of Syrian Democratic Forces (L) and a member of the Syrian Transitional Government's Public Security Forces at the location of a prisoner exchange between the two sides in Aleppo, Syria, on April 3, 2025. More MOHAMAD DABOUL/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images A Multi-Sided War Since 2015, the SDF has served on the front lines of the U.S. war against the Islamic State militant group (ISIS), over which Trump declared victory during his first administration in 2019. U.S. troops remain deployed to the northeast under the official mission of combating the remnants of ISIS. Before aiding the SDF, the U.S. had backed predominantly Arab rebel forces that first rose against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2011, sparking a civil war. The SDF would go on to clash with a number of these same groups, some of which are now predominantly backed by Turkey. Syrian opposition forces scored their biggest victory in December when they managed to oust Assad in an 11-day lightning offensive, followed by Sharaa assuming the presidency. The dramatic turn of events quickly sparked tensions between the new government and the SDF, which was forced to withdraw from several areas amid clashes. The U.S. has since maintained its partnership with the SDF but also played a key role in securing a deal in March that would see the SDF-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria integrate into the new central government, thus avoiding a new all-out conflict. Yet instances of minorities being targeted elsewhere in the country have raised new questions over Sharaa's control over the array of insurgents who helped bring him to power, even as the new Syrian leader repeatedly vowed to hold all perpetrators accountable. "The army's job is to protect the homeland and its citizens, not the other way around," Mohamad said. "These scattered and recurring incidents here and there make us take a step make us say that Damascus does not have that kind of control over the army, for that it cannot control those unruly elements." Syrian Democratic Forces command Mazloum Abdi (L) and Syrian Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa (R) sign a deal in Damascus, on March 10, 2025. Syrian Democratic Forces command Mazloum Abdi (L) and Syrian Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa (R) sign a deal in Damascus, on March 10, 2025. Syrian Arab News Agency/AP False Starts The SDF has engaged in negotiations to integrate with Damascus on several occasions throughout its 10-year existence. While Kurdish factions remained largely neutral in the civil war between Assad and rebels, alternatively fighting with one side or the other at various times, the Iran- and Russia-backed Syrian ruler's comeback from defeats in the earlier stages of the war paved the way for potential partnerships. Each time, however, talks unraveled, and Assad remained under U.S. sanctions, accused of war crimes and considered a pariah by the West. These sanctions were lifted late last month by the Trump administration "in support of the Syrian people and their new government as they rebuild their country and have the opportunity to become a stable and prosperous nation at peace with itself and its neighbors." The move followed Trump's meeting with Sharaa in Saudi Arabia in May, after which the U.S. leader offered praise for his Syrian counterpart. But just as Sharaa's commitments to building an inclusive future for his country have been challenged by sectarian violence involving Alawites and Druze, disagreements over the U.S.-backed deal have left few signs of progress in the Damascus-SDF integration process. Israel's intervention, which has included strikes against government sites in Damascus, under the pretext of protecting minority groups, has also added to pressure against the government. "No one wants to see their capital bombed by external forces," Mohamad said. "Therefore, Damascus must realize that Syria cannot be returned to the pre-2011 state. It wants to completely dissolve the SDF and integrate it into the Syrian army. This is not possible in this way." "Trust must exist first and foremost, and rights must be guaranteed within political participation and a comprehensive constitution," she added. "Such a process, within the conditions we discussed previously, require time, as it will proceed according to agreed-upon steps." At the same time, Damascus has consistently defended its position and warned against delaying the process for too long. "Delaying the implementation of this agreement will prolong the chaos, open the door to foreign interference and fuel separatism," Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said during a joint press conference alongside his counterparts from Jordan and Turkey in May, according to the Al-Quds Al-Araby outlet. Syrian government security forces stand atop an earth barrier created as a buffer between Druze and Bedouin militias during their deployment in Busra al-Harir in Syria's southern Daraa province on July 21, 2025. Syrian government security forces stand atop an earth barrier created as a buffer between Druze and Bedouin militias during their deployment in Busra al-Harir in Syria's southern Daraa province on July 21, 2025. OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP/Getty Images Pressure Builds Damascus is not the only actor that would like to see a swift implementation of the agreement. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has emerged as Sharaa's closest international partner over the past seven months and a key factor in Trump's embrace of the Syrian leader, has directly accused the SDF of "stalling." More recently, on Tuesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan went as far as to threaten direct intervention against any other groups seeking to take advantage of sectarian strife to pursue separatist aims. "If you go beyond that and use violence to divide and destabilize, we will perceive it as a direct threat to our national security and intervene," Fidan said, as reported by ABC News. The Turkish top diplomat went on to warn that "trying to extract autonomy or independence from chaos built on blood and created with someone else's help is a perspective that leads nowhere," emphasizing that "now is the time for integration" and "for everyone to hold onto life while preserving their identity and beliefs." Turkey views the SDF and affiliated groups, such as the People's Protection Units (YPG), as direct wings of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Turkey has conducted several cross-border operations along with numerous strikes against SDF positions under the pretext of combating the PKK, which both Ankara and Washington view as a foreign terrorist organization. In May, the PKK announced it was disarming after reaching a peace deal in the group's decades-long conflict with Turkey. Yet Turkish officials have remained cautious about remnants of the group attempting to continue the struggle on behalf of the PKK. In a rare instance of Washington officials also tying the U.S.-supported SDF to the U.S.-blacklisted PKK, Thomas Barrack, who serves as Trump's ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, told reporters last week that "SDF is YPG, YPG is a derivative of PKK." The U.S. envoy acknowledged that "YPG was a spinoff of PKK that we allied with to fight ISIS," and also appeared to temper sympathies for the SDF's cause in Washington, including among members of Congress. "There's no question—especially Congress has a very soft spot in their heart for SDF, and it's been very clear that we want to pave and provide an onramp for them to join what? The Syrian Government," Barrack said. "There's not an indication that there's going to be a free Kurdistan." "There's not an indication that there's going to be a separate SDF state," he added. "There's not an indication on our part that there's going to be a separate Alawite state or a separate Druze state. There's Syria." Mohamad, for her part, argued that the SDF was also rallying behind Syrian unity. However, she advocated for a new style of government that would afford more distance from the state for various communities. "We support the unity of Syrian territory and the unity of the people as well. We do not equivocate on this issue," Mohamad said. "We share the autonomous areas of administration with our Arab brothers who live with us, as well as the Syriacs, Assyrians, Armenians, and others. We are not alone in this matter. Everyone has concerns, and this is natural." "Whatever the name of the country's political system, it must preserve privacy for everyone," she added. "It doesn't matter what name we call it, federalism, autonomy, or decentralization. What matters is ensuring that privacy. When we feel safe, we won't need those massive armies. In any case, it is part of the Syrian state army." A Syrian Democratic Forces member watches as U.S. forces assigned to the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment patrol with M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles in an undisclosed location, on April 14, 2025. A Syrian Democratic Forces member watches as U.S. forces assigned to the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment patrol with M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles in an undisclosed location, on April 14, 2025. Master Sergeant Ray Boyington/Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve/U.S. Army Questions over U.S. Presence As Washington steadily recalibrates its policies, questions continue to surround the future of the U.S. military presence in Syria, a nation in which Trump once said the U.S. should have no involvement in the immediate aftermath of Assad's ouster. The Pentagon revealed around this time that there were approximately 2,000 U.S. troops there, an increase from the previously reported figure of 900. U.S. troops in Syria are deployed both alongside the SDF in the northeast as well as alongside the Syrian Free Army rebel group in the southeast desert garrison of Al-Tanf. Trump had previously voiced intentions to withdraw all troops from Syria during his first administration, and, months after he took office a second time, the Pentagon announced in April that it would begin reducing the U.S. military footprint in the country by more than half. Mohamad, however, downplayed the prospect of any concerns among the SDF in response to the U.S. drawdown. "We have no fear of reducing the number of forces," Mohamad said, "as coordination is ongoing, and we have a professional military force trained for these tasks." She maintained that "the international coalition is present in the areas of autonomous administration, and we are working together on issues related to combating terrorism and stability in the region as well." "We are taking the path of dialogue that establishes a democratic system and consolidates justice and law for all, while they view the matter as a central government with a single vision," Mohamad said. "If the Syrian-Syrian dialogue carries national goals, it will not need guarantees." "However, the discussions are now being conducted through American mediation, so it directly becomes a guarantor of any agreement," she added. Such a deal, she said, would include "agreeing on a constitution that guarantees all citizenship rights and the privacy of the communities living on the homeland." "We are completely open to a serious national dialogue that stops the bloodshed and unites the country," Mohamad said. "I believe this is also Damascus's intention, but the approach is different."
Fox News
4 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Don't look away as Islamist regime in Syria allows slaughter of Christians and Druze
In recent days, heartbreaking reports have emerged from Syria: brutal murders of innocent civilians — many from minority Christian and Druze communities — allegedly perpetrated by forces aligned with the country's Islamist regime, now led by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, previously known by his nom de guerre, "Abu Mohammed al-Golani," long on the FBI's Most Wanted List from 2013 through 2024 for his role in Sunni Islamist regional terror groups. As a Syrian-American, my heart aches for what has become of my ancestral homeland. As a physician, I cannot detach myself from the human suffering behind each headline. And as someone who has spent decades warning of the rising threat of Islamism, I am sounding the alarm: a new tyranny is taking root in Syria, cloaked in religious language, but every bit as dangerous and destructive as the last. The importance of exposing, understanding and confronting early inflection points in Syria towards yet another tyranny after over 55 years of Ba'athist military dictatorship cannot be overstated. The world has grown tragically used to Syrian suffering. Since the Assad regime began its campaign of terror in 2011, against the long-overdue revolution of anti-government protests, the country has become synonymous with war, displacement and loss. More than half a million people have been killed. Over 13 million have been displaced. Cities, like my ancestral hometown of Aleppo, have been reduced to rubble. And yet, from the ashes of Bashar al-Assad's family reign, a new authoritarianism is emerging, this time driven not by secular fascism, but by religious supremacism. The reports we are now receiving point to sectarian violence targeting Syria's religious minorities, specifically Christians and the Druze. These are communities that have existed in Syria for centuries, long before the rise of Islam, and that have weathered waves of persecution. Now they are being targeted again, this time by groups sympathetic to the new regime whose leaders adhere to an Islamist interpretation of Sunni Islam, and who view theological difference not as a reality of pluralism but as a crime worthy of death. This is not Islam. This is Islamism. Islamism is a doctrinal interpretation that promotes a rigid, theocratic vision of Islam as a political system. It seeks to implement sharia, or Islamic law, not simply as a personal or spiritual guide, but as the governing authority over every aspect of public and private life. Islamists see the rights of citizens coming not from God but from their theocratic version of Islam. Islamists believe their political power is divinely mandated and dissent is heretical and treasonous. This is not faith. It is fascism wrapped in the language of God. For years, Islamists have falsely presented themselves as the antidote to Assad's tyranny. They have told the world they are fighting for freedom, justice and democracy. But let's be clear: the Islamists now in power are no different from Assad. Their language and methods may differ, but their goals are the same: absolute control, achieved through fear, violence and repression. Where the Assads used torture chambers and chemical weapons, the Islamists use a cult-like religious identity as both sword and shield. Where the Assads sowed sectarianism in order to then crush dissent in the name of national unity, the Islamists now do the same in the name of their version of "divine truth." And the result is the same: bodies in the streets, families torn apart and the suffocation of any future for liberty. At the heart of this struggle is a principle that we, in America, hold dear — but that is increasingly endangered across the globe: religious freedom. It is not just one right among many. It is the foundation of all others. As I have said many times: religious liberty is the tip of the spear of all freedoms. It is the "First Liberty." When it flourishes, society flourishes. When it is crushed, all other freedoms fall. This is not abstract philosophy. This is the lived reality of millions. When people are denied the freedom to worship and believe — or not believe — according to their conscience, it is only a matter of time before they are also denied the freedom to speak, to assemble, to vote, to live without fear. Syria is a tragic case study in what happens when religious liberty is replaced by ideological authoritarianism, whether secular or theocratic. At the CLARITy Coalition, we are committed to shining a light on the threats posed by both political Islam and authoritarian regimes. We are a network of Muslims, ex-Muslims and allies from across the ideological spectrum who believe that liberty is not just a Western value. It is a human one. We believe in the dignity of every person, the equality of all before the law and the essential truth that no government has the right to tell you what to believe. We call on the international community not just to condemn the latest atrocities in Syria but to act. That means demanding investigations into the massacres now being reported. It means holding the government in Damascus accountable and demanding transparency in how their nascent government protects every minority and every citizen. It means withholding recognition and support from any regime that commits or enables such crimes. It means recognizing Islamism as the dangerous political ideology that it is, not a legitimate expression of religious faith, but an extremist perversion of it. In 2013, the Obama administration enabled, empowered and celebrated the "democratically" elected Islamist regime of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, laying the groundwork for the return of yet another military regime in current leader Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. Syria's profound religious diversity can be a bulwark against these dueling fascisms and Game of Thrones. But this means standing with the Syrian people: Christians, Druze, Sunnis, Shi'a, Alawites, Kurds, atheists, everyone who yearns for a Syria where they can live in peace, worship freely, assemble and speak their minds without fear. President Donald Trump should immediately call for a full accountability and transparency from Damascus on Sharaa's government's treatment of minorities and his direct responsibility for the freedom of religious minorities under his rule. The Syrian people deserve better than a choice between Assad and al-Golani. They deserve a future rooted not in sectarianism and violence, but in liberty and dignity. The world ignored Syria once before, and the price was horrific. We cannot afford to ignore it again.
Shafaq News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Shafaq News
35+ arrested: INSS foils Baath Party sabotage plots
Shafaq News – Baghdad Iraq's National Security Service (INSS) announced, on Sunday, it had disrupted coordinated sabotage plots tied to remnants of the banned Baath Party in three provinces. Former regime loyalists were attempting to stir unrest through propaganda, disinformation, and online recruitment, INSS stated, describing the suspects as 'fragile pockets' hiding anti-government agendas behind revived Baathist slogans. The investigation also dismantled a digital network known as 'Brigade 66,' allegedly run from abroad, which used encrypted platforms to promote Baathist ideology and sow division. Security forces also arrested 40 individuals accused of spreading sectarian content and planning sabotage, INSS noted, adding that several admitted to receiving financial and strategic support from foreign sources.
Shafaq News
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Iraq arrests ISIS collaborator in Kirkuk
Shafaq News – Kirkuk On Saturday, Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) announced the arrest of a suspected ISIS collaborator in an ambush west of Kirkuk. In a statement, the PMF noted that the detainee confessed to maintaining contact with ISIS elements and promoting Baathist ideology, adding that his father previously held a senior position within the group. The PMF—a coalition of Shiite armed factions operating alongside Iraq's military—plays a central role in counter-terrorism operations across the country.
Saudi Gazette
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Rubio says U.S. may review terror designations on Syria after Trump lifts sanctions
WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has pledged to consider reviewing both domestic and United Nations terrorist designations related to Syria, following President Donald Trump's landmark decision to lift sanctions and end the national emergency targeting the war-torn country. In a phone call with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, Rubio said he would explore potential adjustments to existing terrorism designations, according to a statement released Thursday by State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce. Rubio reiterated that sanctions would remain in place against 'malign actors,' including former President Bashar al-Assad and his affiliates, but said recent steps 'may mark the beginning of a new chapter for both the Syrian people and U.S.-Syria relations.' The call came days after Trump announced the lifting of what he called 'brutal and crippling' U.S. sanctions on Syria during an investment forum in Riyadh. He also held a historic meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the first between U.S. and Syrian leaders in 25 years. Al-Sharaa rose to power in January 2025 after leading anti-regime forces that ousted Assad, who fled to Russia on Dec. 8, 2024, ending more than 60 years of Baathist U.S. and Syrian officials also discussed counterterrorism cooperation, relations with Iran and Israel, and efforts to dismantle any remaining chemical weapons linked to the Assad regime, according to the State Department. — Agencies
