HTS boss explains:

Then refugees can return to Syria

A refugee receives a warm welcome from his uncle when he returns home after twelve years.

(Bild: APA/AFP/AAREF WATAD)

In order for refugees to be able to return to Syria, the head of the victorious Islamists says sanctions against the country must be lifted. Under ousted President Bashar al-Assad, the EU had imposed punitive measures that were quite severe.

Since the overthrow of Assad by Mohammed al-Golani's Islamist fighters, Western states have been seeking contact with the new leadership in Syria. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy confirmed on Monday that the government in London had "sent a high-level delegation to Damascus for talks with the new Syrian authorities and members of civil society in Syria".

At a meeting with British diplomats on Monday, HTS chief Mohammed al-Golani, who now goes by his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa, emphasized the need to "lift all sanctions imposed on Syria - to allow Syrian refugees to return to their country".

A refugee is warmly welcomed by his uncle as he returns home after twelve years.

(Bild: APA/AFP/AAREF WATAD)

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) also affected by sanctions
However, the Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the overthrow of Assad, is also subject to sanctions. However, according to its foreign affairs commissioner Kaja Kallas, the EU will not be lifting the sanctions against Syria for the time being. This is because the new rulers must first ensure that minorities are not persecuted and that women's rights are protected, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs recently pointed out in an interview.

Golani had previously announced the dissolution of the fighter groups and their entry into the army. The various factions "will be disbanded and the fighters will be trained for the ranks of the Ministry of Defense, all subject to the law," the HTS leader explained on Telegram on Monday.

Bombed houses in the Syrian city of Homs

(Bild: APA/AFP/AAREF WATAD)

He also declared on Monday that he wanted to conclude a "contract" between the state and religions in order to ensure "social justice". "Syria must remain united and there must be a social contract between the state and all faiths to ensure social justice," the Islamist leader said at a meeting with dignitaries from the Druze community, according to his HTS-led coalition on Telegram. The Druze are a community whose religion originated from Islam.

Background
Fighters led by the Islamist HTS militia conquered Damascus on 8 December and ended the long rule of the ruler Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Assad's most important allies - Russia, Iran and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militia - did not intervene to stop the Islamist fighters' advance on the Syrian capital. Assad, who is accused of kidnapping, torturing and murdering dissidents, fled to Russia.