The rebels who deposed President Bashar al-Assad and are now in power in Syria have named Mohammed al-Bashir as the country’s interim leader until March 1.
al-Bashir was also key in bringing down al-Assad’s dictatorship.
“The general command has tasked us with running the transitional government until March 1,” said a statement credited to al-Bashir on state television’s Telegram account, referring to him as “the new Syrian prime minister.”.
Assad fled Syria after an Islamist-led rebel alliance rushed into Damascus on Sunday, bringing an end to his clan’s five decades of harsh reign.
Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the Islamist leader who led the offensive that ousted Assad, has launched talks on a power transition and promised to prosecute former senior officials responsible for torture and war crimes.
His outfit, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, is affiliated with Syria’s Al-Qaeda branch and is classified as a terrorist organisation by many Western governments, despite efforts to modify its rhetoric.
Middle Eastern states protest Israel’s reported actions within Syria’s buffer zone.
This charge comes after Israel’s military revealed that its troops are operating in Syrian territory beyond the demilitarised buffer zones between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
The Israeli military said it had destroyed Syria’s military fleet and that it would set up a “sterile defensive.” Rebel commanders proclaim prominent officials of Assad’s regime wanted for war crimes.
Earlier, Syria’s chief Islamist opposition leader stated that key Assad regime officials implicated in torturing political captives would be identified and prosecuted for war crimes.
It comes after rebel militants claimed that 40 bodies found in a hospital mortuary bore evidence of torture.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
