Syria’s main international airport in Damascus, the capital, will reopen next week, the new government said Saturday, as it tries to reestablish a sense of normalcy after the uprising that toppled President Bashar Assad.
The announcement came amid tensions along the border between Syria and Lebanon, where four Lebanese soldiers were wounded in clashes Friday night. The Lebanese military said that Syrian rebels had fired at Lebanese soldiers along the border.
Ahmad al-Sharaa, Syria’s new de facto leader, faces the challenge of imposing order on a country that has been devastated by 14 years of civil war that split it into multiple warring regions and spurred a proliferation of armed groups.
Al-Sharaa, who leads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group that spearheaded the surprise attack that toppled Assad, has worked to project a moderate image, meeting with Western dignitaries and trying to assure both Syrians and foreign governments that the country is on a stable path.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati of Lebanon spoke with al-Sharaa to discuss the border violence, according to the Lebanese leader’s office. During the call, al-Sharaa pledged that “the Syrian authorities are doing everything necessary to restore calm on the border and prevent the matter from recurring,” Mikati’s office said in a statement.
Authorities in countries bordering Syria had feared that Assad’s ouster would lead to chaos that could spill over.
In eastern Syria, Turkish-backed fighters are continuing to fight Kurdish forces, which have carved out an autonomous region. At the same time, there have been scattered clashes between the new regime and holdouts still loyal to Assad.
On Saturday, forces affiliated with the new Syrian government were searching for “remnants of the Assadist militias” near the central city of Homs, the SANA state media agency reported, after arresting two former officials overnight.
In an attempt to head off potential attacks from Syrian territory, Israeli forces have bombarded military sites across the country and sent troops into a once-demilitarized buffer zone between the two sides. Jordan also partly closed its ground crossing with Syria.
Al-Sharaa and his allies have sought to dissolve the remaining militant groups under the aegis of a single armed force. This past week, they formally appointed a new acting defense minister to oversee the transition.
In another development in the region, Israel pressed on with its military campaign in the Gaza Strip on Saturday. The enclave’s Civil Defense, a rescue agency under the Hamas-run Interior Ministry, reported at least two airstrikes in which at least 11 people were killed and more than 20 were missing under rubble across Gaza. The agency does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its totals. The Israeli military said it had struck Hamas fighters in Gaza City in one attack and did not comment on the other.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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