January 30, 2025
Here is how the New York times announced the installation of a fundamentalist Sunni-Islamic dictatorship in Syria:
Rebel Leader Who Overthrew al-Assad Is Declared Syria’s President (archived) - New York Times, Jan 29 2025
The new leadership of the country said the rebel coalition leader, Ahmed al-Shara, would serve as president during a transitional period.
The rebel coalition that seized control of Syria last month appointed its leader,Ahmed al-Shara, as president of the country to preside over a transitional period, Syrian state media reported on Wednesday.A spokesman for the coalition, Col. Hassan Abdel Ghani, also declared that the Constitution had been nullified and the legislature and army formed under the country’s deposed dictator, Bashar al-Assad, were dissolved, according to the state news agency, SANA.
The declarations amounted to the country’s first official steps toward establishing a new government after the rebel coalition led by the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or H.T.S., swept into the capital, Damascus, last month in a lightning offensive that toppled Mr. al-Assad. Mr. al-Shara, who led that coalition, has since been serving as the country’s de facto leader.
This is the first time that I have read of a "coalition" in Syria. Who but the al-Qaida aligned Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) under its brutal mass murderer Ahmed al-Shara (formerly known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani) is part of it?
Contrast the NY Times take with the one by the Washington Post:
Syria’s de facto leader declares himself president, abolishes constitution - Washington Post, Jan 29 2025
Syria’s de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, on Wednesday abolished the country’s constitution and declared himself president during a meeting of armed factions in Damascus.The former rebel leader will “assume the duties of the Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic and represent it in international forums,” commander Hassan Abdelghani said, according to the Syrian state news agency SANA.
No mysterious 'coalition' in this one.
Posted by b on January 30, 2025 at 10:23 UTC | Permalink