Syria ‘exhausted from war’: HTS leader

“People are exhausted from war. So the country isn’t ready for another one and it’s not going to get into another one,” Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, said.

“The source of our fears was from the Iranian militias, Hezbollah and the regime which committed the massacres we are seeing today. So their removal is the solution for Syria. The current situation won’t allow for a return to panic.”

Al-Sharaa added Syria will be rebuilt and he sought to reassure foreign countries.

“Their fears are unnecessary, God willing. The fear was from the presence of the [al-Assad] regime. The country is moving towards development and reconstruction. It’s going towards stability,” he continued.

A spokesperson for the Department of Political Affairs in Damascus has also issued a statement urging unity in the country as it transitions away from the Bashar al-Assad government’s administration of Syria.

“Syria needs the efforts of all its people in the coming period,” the spokesperson said.

“The revolution has many cadres,” the spokesperson continued, saying that the new administration would not ignore them.

“We do not accept a divided Syria, and everyone must prepare themselves for the change that has occurred. There will be no room for carrying weapons outside the state,” he added.

Militants waged a surprise two-pronged attack on Syria’s Aleppo and the countryside around Idlib on November 27.

Soon afterward, they seized control of several major Syrian cities, including Hama, Homs, Dara’a, and Suwayda, before entering the capital Damascus.

On Sunday, armed groups, led by HTS militants, announced that they had fully captured Damascus, and confirmed reports of the fall of Assad’s government.