Middle East: German delegation meets Syria's HTS

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Wednesday that 21 pro-Turkey fighters were killed in an attack on a Kurdish-held position near the flashpoint northern town of Manbij. 

This comes despite a fragile US-brokered ceasefire extension for the area. 

"At least 21 members of pro-Turkey factions were killed and others wounded by fire from the Manbij Military Council after pro-Turkey factions attacked" a position at a dam some 25 kilometers (15 miles) from Manbij, the Observatory said. 

It also reported unspecified casualties among the Manbij forces.

The US said on Tuesday that it had brokered an extension to a fragile ceasefire with Turkey, to last until the end of the week. 

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the umbrella group including the Manbij Military Council and other groups, said in a statement that its forces "successfully repelled" pro-Turkey fighters. 

"After thwarting the attacks, Manbij Military Council forces initiated a combing operation in the vicinity of the Tishreen Dam and the surrounding area," it said. 

Turkey considers most of the Kurdish forces in Syria to be terrorists allied to the Turkish PKK group advocating an independent Kurdish state.

However, the same forces were also key allies to the US-led mission to oust the so-called "Islamic State" from Iraq and Syria.

DW spoke with senior CDU politician Jens Spahn about his party's proposals for Syrian migrants, as the center-right bloc leads in the polls before early elections in February.

Spahn said Germany should pause new asylum-seeker applications from Syria, as the current government intends to, telling DW: "We need to stop all the programs that take Syrian refugees to Germany, since we have to wait [to see] what's going on there, how it develops."

Spahn had proposed paying €1,000 to each Syrian immigrant who volunteers to self-deport, prompting discussion and some criticism in Germany.

Asked about this, he said the CDU wants "to help support those who want to go back to Syria… to build up the country again."

He offered an invitation for some to stay, saying, "those who are actually integrated, who pay for themselves and their families, who speak the language, are part of our German society, they should get an offer to stay," but added, "at the same time, those who do not need our protection anymore, they need to leave."

DW also asked Spahn about the prospects of closing EU external borders in the future.

He said it was important to "put an end to the message" that just reaching the EU — even by illegal and uncontrolled means — meant you can stay and would immediately be eligible for benefits.

"If we don't end that message then we can't get control over irregular migration," Spahn said. 

Although he said the EU should always be open for refugees from crisis regions he noted that numbers should be limited and entry requirements selective, in cooperation with the UN. The current situation, in which "almost only young men come without any control over our European borders," would prove untenable. 

Germany's conservative opposition has called for the topic of repatriation for Syrian asylum seekers in Germany to be discussed in any further talks with the new transitional government in Syria.

Alexander Dobrindt, parliamentary leader for the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), said it was "essential that the question of migration and repatriation be connected to any possible development aid."

"When the reason to flee no longer exists, a return must be possible," Dobrindt said, adding that his party would judge any further government communication with the new Syrian regime "based on whether such discussions feature the issue of migration or whether it's only about aid."

Both the German Foreign and Interior Ministries have said it is too early to discuss the repatriation of Syrian refugees before the situation in their homeland has stabilized.

"Let's not jump to step five before we've completed step one," said a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, pointing out that there were still issues concerning the "elementary provision of public services" in Syria and that fighting continued in some areas of the country.

"As such, I believe that the most important question is how to stabilize Syria," the spokesman said.

"Only then," concurred an Interior Ministry colleague, "will there be a clear possibility for people who don't have permission to reside in Germany to return to Syria, especially criminals who we of course want to deport."

After German diplomats held initial talks with Syria's new transitional government on Tuesday (see below), the German Foreign Ministry has said it is considering if and when the German embassy in Damascus could be reopened.

"We are currently considering all options as to when we can reestablish a presence in Damascus and to what extent," said a spokesman in Berlin on Wednesday, but did not specify a time frame.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the German Justice Ministry said the government was also considering whether or not to continue classifying Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), who led the overthrow of former President Bashar Assad, as a terrorist organization.

The Israeli military ordered another evacuation in central Gaza ahead of an offensive in the area, even as Israel and the militant group Hamas appeared to inch closer to a ceasefire.

"This is an advance warning ahead of an offensive," Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X, formerly Twitter.

The order included four residential block areas in the urban refugee camp of Bureij, where Adraee claimed militants fired rockets toward Israel.

He asked residents to move to a "humanitarian zone" in the Muwasi area. 

Frequent evacuation orders throughout the war have displaced over 90% of Gaza's population, many multiple times.

Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of carrying out ethnic cleansing in Gaza as part of a campaign of forced displacement, claims which Israel has rejected.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has indicated that the EU may consider removing some sanctions placed on the Syrian government during the rule of former President Assad.

Aside from targeting many individuals close to the Assad regime as well as the ex-president himself, the European Union also imposed wide-reaching import and export bans, as well as loan and trading restrictions.

Von der Leyen implied that some bans on technical and electronic equipment and fuel may be dropped in order to facilitate the country's reconstruction.

However, she warned, "The new leadership in Damascus has to prove that their deeds match their words," referring to their promise to respect minorities and walk away from some of their extreme Islamist roots.

A Syrian Air flight took off from Damascus airport on Wednesday, the first flight to leave the hub since former President Assad and his family fled the country.

The flight carrying 43 passengers, including journalists, left Syria ten days after Assad's security forces abandoned the airport.

Rebel leaders had said that getting the terminal back online was a "top priority" for the new government as it connected Syria to the rest of the world.

Airport staff have been repainting Syrian airplanes to display the three-star flag of the revolution, and the flags around the airport have also been replaced.

The military leader of Syria's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has said that it would be "the first" rebel group to dissolve its armed wing and integrate into a national military.

Murhaf Abu Qasra, also known by nom de guerre Abu Hassan al-Hamawi, told French news agency AFP that "all military units must be integrated" into one institution, and that HTS "will be, God willing, among the first to take the initiative."

He added that leaders of Kurdish-held areas of Syria, who have been cautious to engage with the interim government over fears of violence, should also be integrated into the country's new government.

 "The Kurdish people are one of the components of the Syrian people... Syria will not be divided," Qasra said.

He called on the international community to pressure Israel to stop airstrikes on Syrian territory as the new government finds its legs.

"We view the Israeli strikes on military sites and the incursion into southern Syria as unjust," he said.

Israel has said it is only targeting military installations where the government of ousted leader Bashar Assad allowed the militant group Hezbollah to launch attacks. However, Israel has also been accused of a land grab as its army has taken over a demilitarized buffer zone inside Syrian territory.

Qasra added that HTS calls "on the United States and all countries to lift this designation" of his organization as a terrorist group. HTS has shared roots with al-Qaeda in Syria, but has sought in recent years to soften its reputation and has repeatedly vowed to respect minorities in the country.
 

Top officials from the US, Qatar and Egypt have touted progress in recent days over a ceasefire and a hostage deal in Gaza.

CIA Director William Burns is also expected to return to Doha on Wednesday, according to a Reuters report.

He is due to hold talks with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on bridging remaining gaps between Israel and Hamas, according to the report.

However, there's been little word from Israel's side of movement on a truce that would lead to the release of hostages held in Gaza. 

Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the EU, Germany and others, attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1200 people and taking over 250 hostages.

The Israeli military operation in Gaza has resulted in over 45,000 Palestinian deaths, displacing the majority of the 2.3 million population and leaving much of the coastal enclave in ruins.

DW takes a closer look at the German government's plan for seeing through a peaceful transition of power in Syria.

German diplomats have held talks in Damascus with Syria's new transitional government, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

Germany is the latest country seeking to re-establish ties with Syria following the fall of the Bashar Assad regime.

"The talks focused on the political transition process and our expectations regarding the protection of minorities and women's rights in order to support peaceful development in Syria," the German Foreign Office said in Berlin.

As well as Tuesday's talks, the delegation also carried out an "initial inspection of the German Embassy building in Damascus," according to the foreign ministry statement.

On X, the ministry said: "Assad has repeatedly used chemical weapons against his own people in Syria. Now there is a chance for full investigation and destruction of Syria's chemical weapons. We are providing the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons with further funds and are also addressing this today at talks in Damascus."

The delegation was led by Middle East envoy Tobias Tunkel and also included a representative of the German Development Ministry.

The meetings with Germany's delegation came after UK diplomats held talks on Monday with HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Mohammed al-Golani.

Meanwhile, the EU announced on Tuesday that it would reopen its representation in Damascus, after making contact with the new Syrian leadership.

"Now we have to step up and continue our direct engagement with HTS and other factions," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at talks in Ankara with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Iran, however, is keeping its Damascus embassy closed for the time being, pointing to "political and security-related preparations," an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said, according to comments reported on by the ISNA news agency.

jsi/rm (AP, Reuters, AFP, dpa)