Syria’s new interim prime minister has pledged to protect minority rights and bring security to the country in an interview with Al Jazeera, amid reports that the tomb of Hafez al-Assad, the father of removed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was torched in Latakia.
The tomb of Hafez, who was president from 1971 until his death in 2000, was burned in his hometown of Qardaha, located in the Latakia heartland of al-Assad’s Alawite community. Bashar al-Assad succeeded him in 2000.
Mohammed al-Bashir, the newly appointed caretaker prime minister, said the priority was to ensure that people could return to work, but pledged to bring to justice “those whose hands are stained with blood”.
“Most of the employees who worked in these institutions have returned to their jobs and resumed their work. The door remains open for all employees, except for those whose hands are stained with blood from military institutions or the shabiha,” he said, referring to Syrian fighter groups loyal to the al-Assad family.
“These individuals will be referred to courts for trial before being allowed to return to their roles in the institutions,” al-Bashir, who headed the regional government in Idlib province, added.
Syrians across the country celebrated the spectacular end to five decades of brutal rule by the al-Assad family, after a lightning offensive spearheaded by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and its allies.
