Syria updates: Olaf Scholz calls for 'inclusive' transition

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on Thursday pitched a joint European approach to returning refugees to Syria.

"I believe it would be very expedient to organize this together," she said at a meeting of EU interior ministers in Brussels.

Numerous EU countries froze asylum proceedings for Syrians when strongman Bashar Assad fled the country on Sunday.

Faeser suggested EU nations exchange information on the latest developments in Syria in an effort to determine where it is heading.

The European Commission has warned against hasty deportations. 

"We must now prepare the things that are necessary," retorted Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner.

"On the one hand, we need to suspend proceedings and then prepare for repatriations and deportations now. You can't wait, you have to work to make that clear," according to the Austrian. 

Karner said Vienna is "not talking about the mass-deportations that some [on the far-right] want," but rather the targeted deportation of "those who have become criminals, who do not share European and Austrian values, who don't want to work and who live off welfare."

Faeser acknowledged Germany's own shortage of doctors and nurses Thursday, saying that those Syrians who would qualify for such jobs are "welcome as long as they follow the law and work."

Syria's acting government said that it had freed US citizen Travis Timmerman, who had seemingly been imprisoned under the regime of deposed Syrian leader Bashar Assad.

"The American... Travis Timmerman has been released and secured," said the interim government's department of political affairs on the Telegram messaging service.

"We confirm our readiness to cooperate directly with the US administration to search for American citizens disappeared by the former Assad regime."

Timmerman told the CBS broadcaster that he was detained for several months after irregularly entering Syria from Lebanon, saying that he had wanted to visit the country for "spiritual purposes" as a Christian pilgrim.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington was working to "bring home" the released American.

He said that he had no update on the status of US journalist Austin Tice, who was abducted in Syria in 2012, but that Wasington was still working to find him.

Syrian rebels have released thousands from the Assad regime's notorious prisons following the former leader's ouster.

Syria's new government plans to suspend the country's constitution and parliament for a three-month transition period, government spokesperson Obaida Arnaout told France's AFP news agency.

The Reuters news agency also reported the planned suspension citing an unnamed government source.

"A judicial and human rights committee will be established to examine the constitution and then introduce amendments," Arnaout said.

"We respect religious and cultural diversity and Syria," Arnaout stressed.

Arnaout pledged that Syria's interim administration will establish "the rule of law."

"All those who committed crimes against the Syrian people will be judged in accordance with the law," he said.

Rebels led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) overthrew Bashar Assad's regime on Sunday.

Syria's current constitution was adopted in 2012 and does not specify a state religion.

A majority of Syria's population are Sunni Muslims, while the Assad family belongs to the largest minority, the Alawite subgroup of Shiite Muslims. The country is also home to substantial numbers of Christians of various sects and Druze, as well as non-Arab ethnic minorities such as Kurds.

Israel deployed its troops into a demilitarized zone with Syria out of self-defense, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Mamorstein said on the platform X.

The operations "was necessary for defensive reasons due to threats posed by jihadist groups operating near the border," the spokesperson said.

"Israel will continue to act to defend itself and ensure the security of its citizens as needed."

Israeli authorities have denied reports their forces moved beyond the demilitarized zone further into Syrian territory.

Israel has carried out over 352 airstrikes across Syria since the fall of Bashar Assad's regime on Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.

A statement from leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) major democracies said they stood "ready to support a transition process that leads to credible, inclusive, and non-sectarian governance" in Syria.

The G7 said the political transition had to ensure "respect for the rule of law, universal human rights, including women's rights, the protection of all Syrians, including religious and ethnic minorities, transparency and accountability."

"The G7 will work with and fully support a future Syrian government that abides by those standards and results from that process," the statement added.

Leaders also urged all parties to "preserve Syria's territorial integrity and national unity, and respect its independence and sovereignty."

The G7 includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

Ethnic Kurds traditionally inhabit parts of northeastern Syria as well as southeastern Turkey, northern Iraq and western Iran.

In Syria, the Kurdish population is concentrated in an autonomous region ruled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are a key ally of the United States in the country.

The multiethnic SDF is led by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia group, which Turkey considers to be a terrorist organization.

Syria's dominant rebel faction, the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has pledged to respect all minority groups.

A separate faction of Turkey-backed rebel forces in Syria's north took the area of Manbij from the SDF following the fall of deposed leader Bashar Assad's regime.

Syrians have been combing through the notorious Saydnaya prison complex following the fall of Bashar Assad's regime.

DW takes a closer look at the search efforts.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Jordan, marking his first visit to the Middle East since the ouster of former Syrian leader Bashar Assad.

Blinken is set to meet with Jordan's King Abdullah and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in the Red Sea city of Aqaba and is scheduled to travel onwards to Turkey on Friday.

The official is to push for an "inclusive" process in the formation of Syria's post-Assad government, according to US officials.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Germany is holding talks with Turkey, Iraq and Iraqi Kurdish authorities on events in Syria, he was cited by the Irbil-based Kurdish news outlet Rudaw as saying.

Pistorius was speaking at a press conference in the capital of Iraq's northern Kurdistan region.

He said that Turkey's role was "even more interesting for the entire region" after the fall of Bashar Assad's regime in Syria.

Pistorius said that Germany would continue supplying aid to Iraq's northern Kurdistan region in the fight against the "Islamic State" (IS) group.

Germany's military has a presence of some 300 military personnel in Iraq as part of US-led forces.

According to information released by Germany's Economy Ministry on Thursday, Berlin approved arms exports to Turkey worth €230.8 million ($242.5 million) in total in 2024, which amounts to the highest level of support since 2006.

 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Jordan's King Abdullah support the establishment of an "inclusive political process" in Syria, a German government spokesman said.

"Both agreed that an inclusive political process in Syria was now very important and that the transition process needed to be supported. Both attached great importance to the protection of ethnic and religious minorities," the spokesman said in a statement.

He said that the two leaders stressed the importance of Syria's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Israel launched air strikes on Syria's northwestern port of Latakia and on the neighboring coastal province of Tartus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

Among the sites hit were military warehouses belonging to the former regime of deposed leader Bashar Assad.

The observatory said that Israel has carried out over 352 airstrikes across Syria since the regime's fall on Sunday.

 

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz that it was important for the United States and Israel to remain in close communication with Israel over new developments in Syria.

"Secretary Austin emphasized the importance of close consultation between the United States and Israel on events in Syria," the Pentagon said in a statement.

According to the statement, Austin told Katz that the US was monitoring the events unfolding in Syria and that it supported a peaceful and inclusive political transition.

 

The director of Damascus Airport,  Anis Fallouh, said the facility should reopen "in the coming days."

"There was a lot damage in the airport's equipment and facilities in 90% of the sections," Fallouh told the Associated Press.

After the Assad family fled, security services abandoned the airport, leaving travel grounded. Sporadic clashes also caused significant damage to some of the buildings.

Stressing the importance of the airport to the country, HTS security official Omar al-Shami told AP that "Damascus international airport is the heart of the city because it is the gateway for international delegations and missions."

He said that reopening the "passage for Syria to breathe" was a top priority.

Washington's top diplomat Antony Blinken is headed to the Middle East on Thursday, making stops in both Jordan and Turkey.

He is set to meet with Jordan's King Abdullah II in the port of Aqaba before heading to Ankara on Friday for talks with Turkish officials.

The talks are expected to focus on the situation in Syria. In a statement, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that Blinken "will reiterate the United States' support for an inclusive, Syrian-led transition to an accountable and representative government."

Turkey has in particular a vested interest in the outcome of the conflict in Syria, as the two share a wide border and Turkey is sheltering millions of Syrian refugees. Moreover, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has long stood in opposition to the Assad regime.

The Jordanian government had also opposed Assad, participating in the American-led intervention in Syria with fighter jets.

The mausoleum of Hafez Assad, who ruled Syria for decades before his death and succession by his son Bashar Assad in 2000, was stormed and set on fire in his hometown of Qardaha, according to footage verified by reporters.

A vast, elevated structure with intricate architecture and ornamentation, it was located in the Latakia region, the heartland of the Assad's Alawite community.

Videos showed rebel fighters and young locals watching it burn. 

The elder Assad took power in the second half of the 20th century by participating in multiple coups following Syria's independence from France.

His elder son, Bassel, was initially being groomed to take over from his father, but he died in a car accident in 1994.

Bashar took power when Hafez died in June 2000.