Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says a new chapter for Syria can begin thatB次元官网网址檚 free of terrorism and suffering for its people.
In a social media post on X on Sunday, Trudeau said the fall of the Assad dictatorship B次元官网网址渆nds decades of brutal oppression.B次元官网网址�
Syrian President Bashar Assad fled the country on Sunday and is now reported to be in Moscow, bringing to a dramatic close his nearly 14-year struggle to hold onto control as his country fragmented in a brutal civil war.
The toppling of Assad comes after opposition forces entered the Syrian capital of Damascus, ending half a century of rule by his family.
Trudeau said Canada is monitoring the transition closely, and he urged B次元官网网址渙rder, stability, and respect for human rights.B次元官网网址�
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said in her own statement on Sunday afternoon that Canada welcomes the end of the Assad regime and that B次元官网网址渋t is an opportunity to rebuild a Syria where all citizens, regardless of ethnicity, religion or background, can live with dignity.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淲e remain committed to holding the Assad regime accountable before the International Court of Justice for the torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment of its own people,B次元官网网址� Joly added.
Ottawa is urging Canadians to avoid all travel to Syria and to consider leaving the country if itB次元官网网址檚 safe to do so.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre told a news conference on Sunday that Assad B次元官网网址渨as a puppet for the tyrants of Tehran.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淗e has carried out genocides against the Sunni people in his own country, and now he appears to have been toppled,B次元官网网址� Poilievre said in Ottawa.
Poilievre said itB次元官网网址檚 unknown who will replace Assad, adding it isnB次元官网网址檛 CanadaB次元官网网址檚 fight and that he doesnB次元官网网址檛 believe Canada should get involved.
B次元官网网址淲e should stand with our allies, including Israel, against the terrorists. We should focus on protecting our own country.B次元官网网址�
Ottawa describes the security situation as volatile, and said the Damascus and Aleppo airports as well as some border crossings are closed.
An updated travel advisory from the Canadian government warns people to avoid the Middle Eastern country due to what it calls B次元官网网址渙ngoing armed conflict, terrorism, criminality, arbitrary detention, torture and forced disappearance.B次元官网网址�
Canada has urged its citizens to leave Syria since November 2011, and its embassy in Damascus suspended its operations in 2012.
SyriaB次元官网网址檚 prime minister said Monday that most cabinet ministers are still working from offices in Damascus after rebels entered the capital over the weekend and overthrew President Bashar Assad. Streams of refugees crossed back into Syria from neighboring countries, hoping for a more peaceful future.
But there were already signs of the difficulties ahead for the rebel alliance now in control of much of the country, which is led by a former senior al-Qaida militant who severed ties with the extremist group years ago and has promised representative government and religious tolerance.
The rebel command said Monday they would not tell women how to dress.
B次元官网网址淚t is strictly forbidden to interfere with womenB次元官网网址檚 dress or impose any request related to their clothing or appearance, including requests for modesty,B次元官网网址� the General Command said in a statement on social media.
Meanwhile, some key government services had shut down as state workers ignored calls to return to their jobs, a U.N. official said, causing issues at airports and borders and slowing the flow of humanitarian aid.
Israel said it is carrying out airstrikes on suspected chemical weapons sites and long-range rockets to keep them from falling into the hands of extremists. Israel has also seized a buffer zone inside Syria after Syrian troops withdrew.
In northern Syria, Turkey said allied opposition forces seized the town of Manbij from Kurdish-led forces backed by the United States, a reminder that even after AssadB次元官网网址檚 departure to Russia the country remains split among armed groups that have fought in the past.
The Kremlin said Russia has granted political asylum to Assad, a decision made by President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on AssadB次元官网网址檚 specific whereabouts and said Putin was not planning to meet with him.
Damascus was quiet on Monday, with life slowly returning to normal while most shops and public institutions were closed. In public squares, some people were still celebrating. Civilian traffic resumed but there was no public transport. Long lines formed in front of bakeries and other food stores.
There was little sign of any security presence, and Associated Press reporters saw a few SUVs on the side of a main boulevard that appeared to have been broken into.
In some areas, small groups of armed men were stationed in the streets. A video circulating online showed a man in military fatigues holding a rifle attempting to reassure residents of the Mezzeh neighborhood in Damascus that they would not be harmed.
B次元官网网址淲e have nothing against you, neither Alawite, nor Christian, nor Shiite, nor Druze, but everyone must behave well, and no one should try to attack us,B次元官网网址� the fighter said.
Prime minister says the government is still operational
Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali, who remained in his post after Assad and most of his top officials vanished over the weekend, has sought to project normalcy.
B次元官网网址淲e are working so that the transitional period is quick and smooth,B次元官网网址� he told Sky B次元官网网址 Arabia TV on Monday, saying the security situation had already improved from the day before.
He said the government is coordinating with the insurgents, and that he is ready to meet rebel leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, who made a triumphal appearance at a famed Damascus mosque on Sunday.
Syrians who only days ago were working at all levels of the bureaucracy in AssadB次元官网网址檚 government were adjusting to the new reality.
At the court of Justice in Damascus, which was stormed by the rebels to free detainees, Judge Khitam Haddad, an aide to the justice minister in the outgoing government, said Sunday that judges were ready to resume work quickly.
B次元官网网址淲e want to give everyone their rights,B次元官网网址� Haddad said outside the courthouse. B次元官网网址淲e want to build a new Syria and to keep the work, but with new methods.B次元官网网址�
