Syrian authorities ramp up pursuit of Assad’s loyalists

DAMASCUS

Syria's new authorities have arrested nearly 300 people, including informants, pro-regime fighters and former soldiers, in a crackdown on loyalists to ousted former president Bashar al-Assad, a monitor said on Dec. 29.

Since rebels led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group toppled Assad three weeks ago, ending more than five decades of family rule, the new authorities in Syria have intensified efforts to consolidate control.

The security forces of the new administration launched a large-scale operation on Dec. 26 against Assad's militias.

"In less than a week, nearly 300 people have been detained in Damascus and its suburbs, as well as in Homs, Hama, Tartus, Latakia and even Deir Ezzor," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.

Among those arrested were former regime informants, pro-Iranian fighters and lower-ranking military officers accused of killings and torture.

"The campaign is ongoing, but no prominent figures have been arrested" except for General Mohammed Kanjo Hassan, the former head of military justice under Assad, who reportedly oversaw thousands of death sentences following summary trials at Saydnaya prison, the monitor noted.

The arrests were reportedly taking place "with the cooperation of local populations.”

This development came after Syria’s embassy in Lebanon suspended consular services as two relatives of deposed Syrian leader Assad were arrested at the Beirut airport with allegedly forged passports.

Holding elections could take up to 4 years

In an another development, the country’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said in an interview with Al Arabiya yesterday that elections in Syria may require up to four years to hold. This marks the first time Sharaa has outlined a potential timeline for elections since Assad’s fall.

Sharaa noted that drafting a new constitution could take as long as three years, while significant changes for Syrians might be visible within a year.

On foreign relations, he emphasized that Syria has strategic ties with Russia, which has military bases in the country, supported Assad throughout the civil war and granted him asylum.