Top EU diplomats travel to Syria, visit notorious Sednaya prison, topple Assad regime and call for inclusive leadership

Sam — The European Union supports a peaceful and inclusive transition in Syria, said senior French and German diplomats who traveled to Damascus on Friday to meet new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock were in the Syrian capital to meet on behalf of the European Union as part of the highest-level visit by major Western powers since the capture of the power by forces led by Islamists. Bashar al-Assad, dethroned long-time leader last month.

One of their first stops was the infamous Sednaya Prison, not far from the capital.

Accompanied by White Helmet rescue teams, Barrot and Baerbock visited the cells and underground dungeons of Sednaya, seen for decades as a chilling symbol of atrocities committed against Assad’s opponents.

The prison is the scene of extrajudicial executions, torture and enforced disappearances. More than 4,000 people were released from detention centers when rebel forces took Damascus on December 8, an advocacy group said. Countless other prisoners, both criminals and opponents of Assad, have disappeared after being imprisoned there.

In 2017, the US State Department announced that the Assad regime was using the Sednaya crematorium to dispose of bodies. Effort to ‘cover up’ mass killings It was done there.

A “fragile hope” for a “stable and peaceful” Syria

Shara, leader of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led the attack that toppled Assad. HTS-dominated interim authorities now face the daunting task of rebuilding state institutions, amid growing calls to ensure an inclusive transition and safeguard minority rights.

In Damascus, Barrot expressed his hope for a “sovereign, stable and peaceful” Syria.

It is also “a hope that the desires of all Syrians can be realized,” he added, “but it is a fragile hope.”

Germany wants to help Syria become a “safe home” for its entire population and a “functional state with full control over its territory,” Baerbock said in a statement.

He said the visit was a “clear signal” to Damascus about the possibility of a new relationship between Syria, Germany and Europe as a whole.

The closed-door meeting of European diplomats with Sharaa lasted about an hour and a half on Friday, after which they made no official statement to journalists.

In a previous article on X, Barrot said: “France and Germany stand with the Syrian people in all their differences. »

He added that the two European powers wanted to encourage a “peaceful transition” to a new government in the country.

Despite “skepticism” about HTS, which was previously the Syrian affiliate of al-Qaeda and has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and many other governments, Baerbock said: “We must not miss the opportunity to support the Syrian people in this important step. situation. » «.

Sharaa has distanced itself and HTS from al-Qaeda in recent years, and the group’s public statements reveal its intention to respect Syria’s many religious groups.

The Biden administration has said the United States could recognize a new Syrian government under certain conditions after Assad flees to Russia. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the new leadership and transition process would ensure minority groups in Syria would be protected, humanitarian aid flow into the country, prevent Syria from being used as a base by organizations terrorists and that all types of chemical and biological weapons are secured and destroyed.

Berlin is ready to support an “inclusive and peaceful transfer of power” as well as social “consensus” in Syria, Baerbock said on Friday.

He also asked the new regime to refrain from any “acts of revenge against factions within the population”, to avoid a long delay before the elections and to thwart any attempt to “Islamize” the judicial and judicial systems. educational.

Since the fall of Assad, many foreign envoys have traveled to Damascus to meet the country’s new leaders. France and Germany had already sent low-level delegations last month.

At the start of his visit, Barrot met with representatives of Syria’s Christian communities. Diplomatic sources said Barrot told Christian leaders that France was committed to a pluralistic Syria with equal rights for all, including minority groups.

The Syrian civil war, which began in 2011 with the Assad government’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests, led Germany, France and many other countries to close their diplomatic missions in Damascus.

The conflict has killed more than 500,000 people, displaced millions and left Syria fragmented and devastated.

The new authorities have called for sanctions imposed on Syria under Assad to be lifted to allow reconstruction.

Paris will host an international summit on Syria later this month, following a similar meeting in Jordan in December.