Syria’s rebel factions will be “disbanded,” vowed the leader of the group that played a key role in ousting Bashar al-Assad, as tensions escalate between Turkish-backed rebels and Kurdish forces in the northwest.
Assad fled the country on December 8, following the capture of Damascus by militants led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), marking the end of decades of dictatorship and years of civil war.
HTS leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, has assured both domestic minorities and foreign governments that Syria’s interim leadership will protect all citizens, regardless of ethnicity or sect, and safeguard state institutions.
In a meeting on Monday with members of the Druze community, al-Jolani announced that all rebel factions would be “disbanded” and their fighters integrated into Syria’s defense ministry. “All will be subject to the law,” he said, according to the group’s Telegram posts.
Al-Jolani also stressed the importance of national unity in Syria, emphasizing that the country must remain united. “There must be a social contract between the state and all religions to guarantee social justice,” he stated.
These remarks come amid failed mediation efforts, brokered by the United States, between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Turkey-backed rebels in northern Syria. According to SDF media head Farhad Shami, Washington’s mediation efforts to secure a permanent ceasefire in cities like Manbij and Kobani have collapsed. Shami attributed the failure to Turkey’s refusal to accept key mediation points.
A Syrian opposition source told Reuters that Turkey is unhappy with the ceasefire and prefers to maintain maximum pressure on the SDF.
The SDF had previously claimed a ceasefire agreement in Manbij to ensure civilian safety, although HTS-led rebels, who helped topple Assad, are not involved in the Turkish-backed military operations against the SDF. Kurdish representatives have engaged with the Syrian Transitional Government to foster relations and stabilize the situation.
Meanwhile, tensions between Turkey-backed forces in the northwest and the SDF continue to simmer, as Israel intensifies its airstrikes on Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Israel has carried out over 470 strikes on Syrian military sites since Assad’s departure.
The United States also launched airstrikes on Monday, killing at least 12 Islamic State fighters, as it seeks to prevent the group from exploiting the power vacuum left by Assad’s downfall.
