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Saturday | 11 January 2025 | Epaper

Syrian authorities reopen schools, a week after upheaval that overthrew Assad

Syria since Assad's overthrow: Latest developments

Published : Monday, 16 December, 2024 at 12:00 AM  Count : 147
DAMASCUS, Dec 15 : Students returned to classrooms in Syria on Sunday after the country's new rulers ordered schools reopened in a potent sign of some normalcy a week after rebels swept into the capital in the dramatic overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad.

The country's new de facto leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, faces a massive challenge to rebuild Syria after 13 years of civil war that killed hundreds of thousands of people. Cities were bombed to ruins, the economy was gutted by international sanctions and millions of refugees still live in camps outside Syria.

Officials said most schools were opening around the country on Sunday, which is the first day of the working week in most Arab countries. However some parents were not sending their children to class due to uncertainty over the situation.

Pupils waited cheerfully in the courtyard of a boys' high school in Damascus on Sunday morning and applauded as the school secretary, Raed Nasser, hung the flag adopted by the new authorities.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed Saturday that Washington had made contact with Syria's victorious Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels, despite previously designating the group as terrorists.

He was speaking after talks with Arab, European and Turkish diplomats aimed at forging a common approach to the transition in Syria after HTS and other rebels toppled longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad last weekend.

Here are the main developments on Saturday:
"We've been in contact with HTS and with other parties," Blinken told reporters after the talks on Syria in the Jordanian Red Sea resort of Aqaba.

He did not give details on how the contact took place but when asked if the United States reached out directly, he said: "Direct contact -- yes."

The United States and other Western governments classify HTS as a terrorist group due to its roots in Al-Qaeda's Syria branch
Few expect a quick move by the United States to lift the terrorist designation, especially with a political transition set next month following Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election.

Blinken said that the easing of US sanctions on Syria imposed during Assad's rule would depend on "sustained action" by the rebel-installed interim government to meet the expectations of the international community.

In Aqaba, the participants in the talks with Blinken issued a joint statement calling for a Syrian-led transition to "produce an inclusive, non-sectarian and representative government formed through a transparent process".    —REUTERS, AFP



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