The US is no longer offering a long-dangled $10 million reward for the capture of a Syrian rebel leader whose forces toppled President Bashar Assad’s regime earlier this month.
Ahmad al-Sharaa, the head of US-designated terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, has engaged with foreign delegations including senior US diplomats since becoming the country’s de facto leader. On Friday, Barbara Leaf, the US diplomat for the Middle East, led the first American delegation into Syria since Assad’s ouster on Dec. 8.
“We discussed the critical need to ensure terrorist groups cannot pose a threat inside Syria or externally, including to the US and our partners in the region,” Leaf said after meeting with al-Sharaa in Damascus.
She told reporters that al-Sharaa was committed to renouncing terrorism and therefore the US would no longer offer the reward.
Al-Sharaa has said his primary focus is on reconstruction and economic development, according to reports, and that he is not interested in engaging in new conflicts.
The new rulers on Saturday appointed a foreign minister, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, in an attempt to “establish international relations that bring peace and stability,” Syrian news outlets reported. The administration also named Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency, as defense minister. Also known as Abu Hassan 600, Abu Qasra led numerous military operations during Syria’s revolution.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir previously said that the nation’s defence ministry will be restructured, to include former rebel factions and officers who defected from Assad’s army.
US officials welcomed al-Sharaa’s statements about protecting minority and women’s rights, but remain wary of HTS, which was part of al-Qaeda until 2016, enforcing Islamic rule.
“We will judge by deeds, not just by words,” Leaf said.
The US delegation’s visit also focused on missing American journalist Austin Tice.
“We’re going to be like bulldogs on this,” said the Biden administration’s chief envoy for hostage negotiations, Roger Carstens.
More officials are expected to travel to Syria in the coming days to continue the search, he added, including several prisons and other sites where Tice may have been held.
With Post wires
