The new Syrian leader met an American delegation, a first

The new Syrian leader, Ahmad Al-Chareh, had a “positive” meeting on Friday with American diplomats who arrived in Damascus for a first formal contact with the power, dominated by radical Islamists who overthrew Bashar Al-Assad, said a Syrian official atAFP.

The meeting took place and it was positive. And the results will be positive God willingindicated this official, who requested anonymity.

A press conference planned for the day by the American delegation, which includes Barbara Leaf, the head of the Middle East within the State Department, was however canceled for reasons security reasonsannounced an American spokesperson in Damascus.

Mr. Chareh, known until now by his nom de guerre Abou Mohammad Al-Jolani, is the leader of the radical Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTC), classified as terrorist by several countries, including the United States, and it is itself targeted by American sanctions.

After more than 13 years of civil war which divided and devastated the country, the victory of the rebel alliance led by HTC put an end to half a century of unchallenged power of the Assad clan and repression.

However, the new leaders are now being scrutinized over their respect for human rights, their treatment of minorities in a multi-ethnic and multi-faith country, and the future of the semi-autonomous Kurdish regions of northern Syria.

The place of women

The women are absolutely essential to rebuild Syria, Amy Pope, director general of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), an agency of theHIM.

Returning from Syria, she also called for reevaluate international sanctions to enable the reconstruction of the country.

On Thursday, hundreds of people demonstrated in Damascus for democracy and women's rights.

The silent era is over. We will be on the lookout for any position that would harm women and will not accept itassured Majida Moudarres, a 50-year-old demonstrator.

At the same time, thousands of people demonstrated in Qamichli, in the northeast, in support of Kurdish forces who are trying to repel offensives by fighters supported by Turkey, an ally of the new power.

In the capital, residents received messages on their cell phones addressed to people of Damascus, city of jasmineto participate on Friday in the festival of liberation on Umayyad Square, in the heart of the city.

Other meetings with civil society

The American delegation is also due to meet representatives of civil society in Damascus to discuss about their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can support themaccording to the State Department.

This delegation, the first formal diplomatic mission dispatched by the United States to Damascus since the start of the civil war, notably includes Roger Carstens, responsible for gathering clues about Americans missing in Syria, such as journalist Austin Tice, kidnapped in August 2012.

From early morning, employees and guards were busy outside the U.S. Embassy building, preparing cars for the delegation.

France, Germany, the United Kingdom andHIM had already sent emissaries to Damascus.

The fall of Bashar Al-Assad was greeted with scenes of jubilation, almost 14 years after the start of the civil war triggered in 2011 by the repression of pro-democracy demonstrations, which left half a million dead and pushed to the exile 6 million Syrians.

Former Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda, HTC claims to have broken with jihadism and seeks to reassure, at a time when the bloodless country urgently needs humanitarian aid massiveaccording to theHIM.

The Syrian people find themselves at a historic moment and a moment of opportunity, and this opportunity must not be missedsaid United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Thursday.

Western distrust

Suspicious, Westerners are nevertheless seeking to establish links with the transitional authorities, aware of the risk of fragmentation of the country and the resurgence of the armed jihadist group Islamic State (IS), never completely eradicated in the country.

The American army announced Friday that it had killed an executive of theNO and another member of the group in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor.

The United States indicated Thursday that it had doubled its military personnel in Syria in recent months as part of operations againstNObringing them to around 2000 people.

Washington supports the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which control semi-autonomous areas of northern Syria.

The situation remains particularly volatile in this part of the country, where the Kurdish community, long oppressed, fears losing the limited autonomy that it has hard-won since 2011.

At the same time, fighting pits groups supported by Turkey against Kurdish fighters supported by Washington.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan once again called on Friday to eradicate THE terrorist organizations in Syria, citing theNO and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is waging a separatist insurgency in Türkiye.