Syria’s main international airport in Damascus will reopen next week, the new government said on Saturday, in a bid to restore a sense of normality after the uprising that toppled President Bashar al-Assad.
The announcement came amid tensions along the border between Syria and Lebanon, where four Lebanese soldiers were injured in clashes on Friday evening. The Lebanese army said Syrian militants had fired on Lebanese soldiers along the border.
Ahmad al-Shara, Syria’s new de facto leader, faces the challenge of imposing order in a country that has been ravaged by 14 years of civil war that has divided it into multiple war-torn regions and spurred a proliferation of groups armed.
Al-Shara, who leads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamic group that led the surprise attack that toppled al-Assad, has worked to project a moderate image, meeting Western dignitaries and trying to assure both Syrians to foreign governments that the country is on a stable path.
According to the Lebanese leader’s office, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati spoke with al-Shara to discuss the violence at the border. During the phone call, al-Shara assured that “the Syrian authorities are doing everything necessary to restore calm at the border and prevent the issue from happening again,” Mikati’s office said in a statement.
Authorities in Syria’s neighboring countries had feared that Assad’s ouster would lead to widespread chaos.
In eastern Syria, Turkish-backed fighters continue to battle Kurdish forces, who have carved out an autonomous region. At the same time, there have been scattered clashes between the new regime and the resistance still loyal to al-Assad.
Forces affiliated with Syria’s new government were searching for “remnants of Assadist militias” near the central city of Homs on Saturday, state news agency SANA reported, after arresting two former officials overnight.
In an effort to ward off potential attacks from Syrian territory, Israeli forces have bombed military sites across the country and sent their troops into a once-demilitarized buffer zone between the two sides. Jordan has also partially closed land passage to Syria.
Al-Shara and its allies have sought to disband the remaining militant groups under the umbrella of a single armed force. Last week they formally appointed a new interim defense minister to oversee the transition.
Here are other developments in the region:
-
Fighting in Gaza: The Israeli army said its soldiers were carrying out a three-month ground operation in northern Gaza, where Gaza health officials say Israeli forces are surrounding the Indonesian hospital, one of the last in the area. The Israeli army says it has no plans to immediately evacuate the approximately 20 patients and medical workers at the complex. Since the start of the war in Gaza, Israel has repeatedly raided hospitals, saying Hamas is using them as military bases. Hamas has denied the accusation.