Skip next section What you need to knowWhat you need to know Turkey’s defense minister says his country is ready to help train troops loyal to the new Syrian government German ministers warn those involved in the Bashar Assad regime against seeking refuge in Germany The UN envoy for Syria arrives in the capital Damascus Land mine group warns returnees of danger of unexploded ordnance Here are the latest developments from and related to Syria on Saturday, December 14:
Skip next section UN’s Syria envoy arrives in DamascusDecember 15, 2024
UN’s Syria envoy arrives in DamascusThe United Nations envoy for Syria has arrived in the country’s capital Damascus, a week after the fall of the country’s ruler Bashar Assad to Islamist-led rebels.
Special envoy Geir Pedersen said he hoped for a swift end to the sanctions to help facilitate economic recovery.
“We will hopefully see a quick end to sanctions so that we can see really rallying around building up Syria,” Pedersen said as he arrived to meet Syria’s caretaker government and other officials.
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Skip next section Turkey prepared to offer military training to SyriaDecember 15, 2024
Turkey prepared to offer military training to SyriaTurkey has said it is ready to provide military support to Syria’s new government should this be required.
In comments reported by Turkish media, Defence Minister Yasar Guler said the new government, headed up by the Islamist-led rebels, should be given an opportunity to prove itself.
He said Turkey was “ready to provide the necessary support if the new administration requests it.”
“In their first statement, the new administration that toppled Assad announced that it would respect all government institutions, the United Nations, and other international organizations,” Guler told reporters in Ankara in comments authorized for publication on Sunday.
“We think that we need to see what the new administration will do and to give them a chance.”
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Asked whether Ankara was considering military cooperation with the new Syrian government, Guler said Turkey already had military cooperation and training accords with many countries.
Guler also said he saw no sign of a complete withdraw of Russian forces.
“I don’t think the Russians are going to leave. They’ll do everything they can to stay,” he said.
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Skip next section German transport group dismisses call for Syria repatriations December 15, 2024
German transport group dismisses call for Syria repatriations The president of the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) has dismissed calls within Germany for the repatriation of Syrians after the fall of Assad.
The comments come amid a crisis faced by railway operator Deutsche Bahn in particular, which is grappling with frequent delays, ageing infrastructure, underinvestment and strikes.
In response to a query from the DPA news agency, VDV chief Ingo Wortmann said Syrian workers were vital to keeping the country’s trains and buses running.
“We harm Germany as a business location if people who want to work here cannot stay with us,” said Wortmann.
He dismissed a demand from Jens Spahn, a top conservative Christian Democratic Union politician in favor of repatriation as “political grandstanding.”
“We cannot do without them in many areas,” said Wortmann adding that, in public transport alone, around 2,000 Syrians work nationwide in driving services.
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Skip next section Landmine charity warns of unexploded ordnance dangersDecember 15, 2024
Landmine charity warns of unexploded ordnance dangersA landmine-clearing group says the extent of unexploded ordnance across Syria is “massive” and poses a particular threat to children returning to the country.
Since the fall of Assad last weekend, UK-based charity the Halo Trust has seen a 10-fold increase in emergency calls from Syrians worried about landmines and other dormant bombs.
The group has produced an estimated “heat map” of the areas thought to be contaminated with millions of cluster munitions, landmines and unexploded weapons.
Callum Peebles, who oversees the Halo Trust’s work in the Middle East, encouraged returnees to former combat areas to take extra care.
“It’s very easy to say but hard to do — but if you have young children in a post-conflict environment, it’s really important that you try and limit their movement, because children are inquisitive,” he said. “And so often they’re the ones that get injured or killed.”
https://p.dw.com/p/4oABd
Skip next section German ministers warn Assad ‘henchmen’ against seeking refugeDecember 15, 2024
German ministers warn Assad ‘henchmen’ against seeking refugeGermany’s foreign minister has warned that anyone involved in atrocities for the ousted Syrian government who seeks refuge in her country will face “the full force of the law.”
“To any of [former President Bashar] Assad’s torturers who might be considering fleeing to Germany now, I can only say clearly: We will bring all the regime’s henchmen to account for their terrible crimes with the full force of the law,” Annalena Baerbock told the Bild am Sonntag tabloid.
Since 2021, former Syrian secret police officers have already been convicted in Germany for overseeing or facilitating the abuse of detainees.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said Germany is “extremely vigilant” and that “no one who participated in atrocities is safe from prosecution here.”
Feaser said that sentences already handed down show that Germany pursues such crimes rigorously.
She said this should act as a deterrent against people involved in war crimes from going there.
Thousands of Syrians celebrate ‘Friday of Victory’To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
zc/rc (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)
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