The United Nations special envoy for Syria said yesterday that European countries should not rush to repatriate refugees to the country after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government, and called on foreign actors, including Israel, to refrain from military intervention.
Syria is in chaos three days after Assad's ouster, with continued fighting in the northeast and Israeli bombing of targets and the expansion of a buffer zone inside the country. "The situation in Syria remains volatile," Geir Pedersen said at a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva. Although many Syrians want to return home, “there are still challenges related to existence. The humanitarian situation is catastrophic. The economy is collapsing.”
News of Assad's fall prompted politicians in several European countries to call for a pause in the processing of asylum applications or even for the repatriation of refugees after 13 years of conflict.
On Monday, Austria's provisional government ordered the suspension of asylum applications from Syrians. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said he had ordered the ministry to prepare a program of "orderly repatriation and deportation to Syria."
Croatia also said it had temporarily suspended processing asylum applications from Syrians, following the lead of other European governments, after rebels ousted Assad after 13 years of civil war.
Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović stated that his ministry ordered the authorities "to temporarily stop the asylum requests of Syrian citizens until a decision is made at the level of the European Union".
Other European countries, including Germany, Britain, France, Norway, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Poland, Finland and Greece have also announced suspensions of processing Syrian applications, pending clarification on political developments in Syria.
Božinović emphasized that Syrians were fleeing from a repressive regime that was killing its own citizens.
"That regime no longer exists ... and we all hope that the situation in the country will allow Syrians to return to their country, which is in everyone's interest," he said on Monday evening.
This decision, which affects tens of thousands of open applications, is an indication of the rapid change in the political situation in Syria, as well as the strengthening of right-wing parties across Europe that want to limit immigration.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered the opening of the Yajladagi border crossing earlier this week in order to return some of the more than 3 million Syrian migrants currently in Turkey.
"God willing, things will be better than under Assad's rule. His repression is over. We are returning because now we think that those who have taken over power are already working to end the repression," said yesterday Ala Jaber, who returned to Syria with his ten-year-old daughter, thirteen years after the war forced him to leave his home and flee to Turkey
He is returning to his homeland without his wife and three children who died in the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria last year.
Pedersen said yesterday that the return "is something that many, many Syrians hope for, but let's make sure that the international community helps them in that process."
Israel's campaign of bombing military installations in Syria - something Israel claims is crucial to its security - "must stop," Pedersen said. "It is extremely important that we do not see any actions by any international actor that would destroy the possibility for this transformation in Syria to happen," he told reporters.
Since the weekend, Israeli jets have struck a series of targets across Syria, aiming to ensure that Syrian military equipment, including fighter jets, missiles and chemical weapons, do not fall into rebel hands.
Israeli media reported that the Air Force carried out as many as 250 strikes. The military declined to confirm the number, but confirmed it was seeking to prevent the seizure of Syrian military weapons that could be used by potential enemies.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said yesterday that Israel has ordered its forces to create a "sterile defense zone" in southern Syria that will be maintained without the constant presence of Israeli forces, while strengthening control along the line between Syria and the Israeli-held Golan Heights. occupation.
As part of the wave of attacks, Katz said that Israeli missile boats destroyed the Syrian military fleet during the operation on Monday night. He did not provide details, but said that the zone "will prevent the establishment and organization of terrorist groups in Syria."
Pederson also said yesterday that the international community should be "realistic" about the terrorist designation of the HTS rebel group that ousted Assad. "It's been nine years since that resolution (designating HTS as a terrorist group) was adopted," he said. "The reality now is that HTS and other armed groups are sending good messages to the Syrian people ... about unity, about inclusiveness."
Syria's new interim leader announced yesterday that, with the support of former rebels, he is taking over the country's governance as acting prime minister.
In a brief address on state television, Muhammad al-Bashir, little known in most of Syria and previously in charge of the administration in a rebel-held part of the country's northwestern territory, said he would lead the interim government until March 1.
"Today we held a cabinet meeting that included a team from the Salvation Government that worked in Idlib and the surrounding area, as well as the government of the deposed regime," he said.
Behind him were two flags - a green, black and white flag worn by Assad's opponents during the civil war, and a white flag with the Islamic oath written in black letters, commonly carried by Sunni Islamist fighters in Syria.
In the Syrian capital, banks reopened yesterday for the first time since Assad's ouster. Shops also started to open, traffic returned to the streets and cleaners cleaned the streets.
The decrease in the number of armed people on the streets is also noticeable. Two sources close to the rebels told Reuters that their command had ordered fighters to withdraw from the towns.
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