(9 Dec 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
London – 9 December 2024
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Haid Haid, Consulting Fellow on Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House:
"So far it seems that despite all the challenges and the different sort of divisions within Syria, whether that’s politically or even militarily, things are moving in the right direction. The attacks and fighting over different areas did not really reach a critical point and did not lead to much destruction. Most of the areas fell into the hands of the opposition quite quickly, including Damascus, the capital, which really helped. And what’s happening right now helped in ensuring a smooth transition."
++BLACK FRAMES++
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Haid Haid, Consulting Fellow on Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House:
"Right now, if you look at Damascus, the government that was appointed by the Syrian regime is currently transitioning peacefully there. Every, all the authorities and institutions that basically fall under the authority, (have transitioned) to the opposition groups. Opposition groups have been able to also establish security sort of control over different areas to prevent to prevent fighting, to prevent violations and to prevent looting."
++BLACK FRAMES++
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Haid Haid, Consulting Fellow on Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House:
"Right now, most of those discussions, unfortunately, are happening behind closed doors. So there is not much really information publicly available on how much sort of progress they have been able to achieve. Who is leading those discussions? Who is that, sort of, not only leading figure, but who is ensuring that people from different sorts of backgrounds, whether those are political or religious or ethnic groups, are somewhat included? Who is also trying to stop the current fighting? Because there is still fighting happening, especially between Kurdish- led, the Syrian Democratic Forces, as well as Turkish-backed forces. Will the international community try to pressure those actors to stop fighting and then ensure that the Kurds will be part of the discussion? Because that will determine Syria’s future and whether the country will continue to be divided or not."
++BLACK FRAMES++
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Haid Haid, Consulting Fellow on Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House:
"When it comes to the (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham or HTS) group. The group has been systematically saying that they have cut ties with Al Qaida, they have changed their ideology and they have been sending those signals since at least 2017. Now, in recent days, especially during the offensive to topple the regime, the group has shown discipline in protecting the areas and has given assurances to minorities in the different areas captured by them, but also has signalled willingness to share power and engage with other actors not to have full control for for itself. Now, whether those sorts of promises or statements are true or not is still not clear."
++BLACK FRAMES++
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Haid Haid, Consulting Fellow on Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House:
"That sort of positive atmosphere is crucial but might not last long. So this is why I think acting fast and having a clear idea about what the next phase should look like and engaging with all actors will be crucial."
++ENDS++
STORYLINE:
Syria appears to be "’moving in the right direction" following the downfall of long-time leader Bashar Assad, a UK-based analyst said on Monday.
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