Syria updates: New administration recruits for police, vows ‘rule of law’

This live page is now closed.

For more context on the unfolding events in Syria, read more about how the conflict has prompted efforts to remake the map of the Middle East here.

Read why chemical weapons monitors are warning against Israel’s ongoing strikes here.

Or watch our interview on what the events in Syria mean for US-Iran relations here.

We will be closing this live page shortly. But before we do, here’s a recap of today’s major developments:

• UN chief decried “recent and extensive violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” as Israel continues to push into Syrian territory beyond the occupied Golan Heights.
• A spokesperson for Syria’s new government said a “judicial and human rights committee will be established to examine the constitution and then introduce amendments”, with both the constitution and government suspended for three months.
• US Secretary of State Blinken visited Jordan and Turkiye to discuss the situation in Syria, as a top White House official defended Israel’s ongoing strikes on Syrian sites.
• Humanitarian groups continue to warn of the dire situation in the country, saying it is not ready to support hundreds of thousands of returning refugees.

As China hosted the 19th Asian Games in September last year, President Xi Jinping welcomed al-Assad at a picturesque lakeside guesthouse in the eastern city of Hangzhou.

By the time Xi and al-Assad emerged from their meeting, China and Syria had struck what they called a “strategic partnership”.

Fifteen months later, that partnership lies in tatters, after opposition groups, led by HTS, took hold of the Syrian capital on Sunday, overthrowing al-Assad, who fled to Russia.

Since then, China has been cautious in its response to the rapid shifts in Syria. On Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said a “political solution” must be found in Syria as soon as possible to restore stability.

But while that caution also captures how China has approached its relationship with Syria more broadly, al-Assad’s sudden ouster affects the world’s second-largest economy just as it is increasingly trying to expand its footprint in the Middle East, say analysts.

So how has China’s relationship with Syria been, and how will it change with the new leadership in Damascus?

Find out here.

A reminder that earlier today, Syria’s interim government vowed to institute the “rule of law” after years of abuses under ousted President al-Assad.

The new government’s spokesman was quoted as saying by AFP news agency that the country’s constitution and parliament would be suspended during a three-month transition.

“A judicial and human rights committee will be established to examine the constitution and then introduce amendments,” Obaida Arnaout said.

Speaking at the state television headquarters, seized by the new authorities, Arnaout said they would institute the “rule of law”.

“All those who committed crimes against the Syrian people will be judged in accordance with the law,” he added.

David Des Roches, a professor at the National Defense University, says Israel has been targeting chemical weapons stockpiles in Syria to eliminate any threats against its security.

“In 2013, the French estimated that there were about 1,000 tonnes of chemical weapons in Syria,” the former Pentagon director of Arabian Peninsula Affairs explained.

“There was supposed to be a UN-supervised process that led to the destruction of all chemical weapons and the Syrians declared that complete in 2014. But they clearly conducted a chemical attack against civilians in 2017 and another one in 2018.”

At the moment, there’s nothing in open sources to indicate how many chemical weapons Syria has, Des Roches said.

He added that Israel has also been targeting the Syrian Air Force, “which no longer exists”, and the country’s missile launch facilities.

This is so that “even if you get a bad actor, like [ISIL or ISIS] coming out of the central desert, they don’t have the ability to deliver chemical weapons,” Des Roches said. “And also there’s uncertainty … [The Israelis] don’t know what the government’s going to be like in Syria and they don’t want to take a chance.”

The Turkish presidency has released its accounts of Erdogan’s meeting with Blinken, pledging to work to rebuild institutions in Syria and support the country’s territorial integrity, according to the Anadolu news agency.

Erdogan also told Blinken that Turkiye will take measures for its security against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the Democratic Union Party (PYD), and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).

The YPG is part of the military wing of the US-supported SDF in Syria, a key ally in Washington’s fight against ISIL.

The State Department had earlier said that Blinken had emphasised the “need to ensure the coalition to defeat ISIS [ISIL] can continue to execute its critical mission” during the meeting with Ergodan.

After 13 years of civil war and sanctions, Syria’s new administration is inheriting a health system that is near collapse.

The UN said more than half of the country’s hospitals and primary healthcare centres have been destroyed.

In addition, the majority of Syria’s healthcare providers have fled the country over the past 13 years, leaving a severe shortage of doctors and nurses.

Factional control of Syria has also been a major hurdle for organisations trying to deliver medical supplies to areas with severe shortages.

Blinken has finished his meeting with Turkiye’s President Erdogan. Here’s what was discussed, according to details released by the US State Department:

• Blinken emphasised the “need to ensure the coalition to defeat ISIS [ISIL] can continue to execute its critical mission”. The US currently supports the SDF in Syria, which Turkiye opposes.
• The Turkish-backed SNA group has increasingly clashed with the SDF in recent days.
• Blinken “discussed strong US-Turkish regional cooperation” and shared interest in supporting “a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political transition to an accountable and inclusive government”.
• Blinken said it was important to maintain the flow of humanitarian assistance, adding “displaced Syrians will continue to need protection”. Turkiye has been the largest host of Syrian refugees throughout the war.

Burhan Koroglu has been appointed as the interim charge d’affaires for the Turkish embassy in Damascus.

The Turkish embassy in Damascus ceased its operations in 2012 as the war intensified, with the operations moved to Turkiye’s Consulate General in Istanbul.

Lebanon’s Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi has denied that any security official from the former Syrian regime had entered Lebanon through legal crossings, stressing the authorities’ commitment to arresting any official wanted under Lebanese or international warrants upon his arrival in the country.

Mawlawi’s statement, reported by the official Lebanese National News Agency, came after media reports emerged that Assad regime officials may have fled to Lebanon.

Al Jazeera’s Omar al-Hourani has returned to Damascus’s Political Security Branch prison, also known as al-Faihaa Branch Prison, where he was detained during al-Assad’s rule.

“This one was number 14, where I was held for 40 days,” al-Hourani said, walking into a cell. “Here I’ve seen the worst moments of my entire life.

“I used to always come to this hole, just to breathe,” he said, putting his hand to a small opening in the wall. “My neighbour in the other cell was also in pain, and his difficult way of breathing used to hurt me and break my heart.

“I’m sure so many people have been here in this solitary confinement cell.”

With the number of Syrian refugees making up more than half the population of the country, the logistics of their return and their involvement in the new political process present enormous challenges, Labib Nahhas, programme director of the Syrian Association for Citizens’ Dignity, told Al Jazeera.

“Although we are living in a moment of joy, of disbelief about everything that happened, challenges are already there,” he said. “Syria is not prepared as a country … to have suddenly the influx of three, four, five million refugees.”

Nahhas added that in order to involve refugees in the political process, “civil society must be empowered”.

“This is a totally unique situation,” he added. “It is imperative to emphasise that there cannot be any legitimate, sustainable, comprehensive political solution in Syria unless refugees and displaced Syrians are directly involved in it.”

The crisis summit is set to place over the weekend, Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said.

The summit “to discuss developments in Syria” will include top diplomats from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar.

Their Turkish and US counterparts, the EU’s foreign policy chief and the UN envoy for Syria, will also be in attendance.

The update comes just hours after Antony Blinken departed Jordan, where he visited for talks on Syria. It was not immediately clear if Blinken would attend the upcoming summit.

One of the greatest challenges facing Syria after the fall of al-Assad’s government is the return and integration into the society of the millions of refugees who have fled the country over more than 13 years of war.

In 2011, at the start of a popular uprising against al-Assad, Syria’s population was approximately 21 million. In the years that followed, hundreds of thousands were killed, and about 13 million fled their homes.

As of 2024, the United Nations reports, at least 7.4 million Syrians remain internally displaced, with approximately 4.9 million seeking refuge in neighbouring countries, mostly Turkiye. An additional 1.3 million have resettled elsewhere, mostly in Europe.

This week, several European countries have halted asylum processes – leaving tens of thousands in limbo as they decide whether to return to Syria.

The countries with the most registered Syrian refugees are:

• Turkiye: 3,112,683
• Lebanon: 774,697
• Germany: 716,728
• Iraq: 286,099
• Egypt: 156,465
• Austria: 97,939
• Sweden: 86,956
• Netherlands: 65,622
• Greece: 50,759

In a statement from his media office, Prime Minister al-Sudani said he had spoken with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

“During the conversation, the Prime Minister reiterated Iraq’s steadfast position on the necessity of preserving Syria’s security, territorial integrity, and sovereignty, as well as ensuring civil peace under the free will of the Syrian people,” the statement said.

“He emphasised the importance of respecting Syria’s social, ethnic, and cultural diversity and called on major powers to take responsibility for ending the tragedy in Gaza.”

In a separate call with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the office said al-Sudani “emphasised the importance of Arab coordination in supporting the unity, safety, and sovereignty of Syrian territories and maintaining civil peace”.