US scraps $10m bounty for arrest of Syria’s new leader Sharaa
The US has canceled a $10m (£7.9m) reward for the capture of Syria’s de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, after meetings between senior diplomats and representatives of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Leaf described the talks with Sharaa as “very productive,” noting that he appeared “pragmatic.”
The US delegation arrived in Damascus after HTS overthrew the Bashar al-Assad regime less than two weeks ago. Washington continues to designate HTS as a terrorist group.
A State Department spokesperson confirmed that the diplomats discussed “transition principles” endorsed by the US, regional developments, and the fight against IS.
The spokesperson also mentioned that the officials were seeking further information on American citizens who went missing under Assad’s regime, including journalist Austin Tice, abducted in Damascus in 2012, and psychotherapist Majd Kamalmaz, who disappeared in 2017.
A US embassy spokesperson had previously announced that a news conference with Ms. Leaf was canceled due to “security concerns.”
However during a later briefing, Leaf denied that, insisting “street celebrations” were the cause of the delay.
The visit is the first formal American diplomatic appearance in Damascus in more than a decade.
It is a further sign of the dramatic shifts under way in Syria since the ousting of Assad, and the speed of efforts by the US and Europe, also leaning on Arab countries, to try to influence its emerging governance.
The visit follows those of delegations in recent days from the UN and other countries including the UK, France and Germany.
The delegation of senior officialsincludes Barbara Leaf, Roger Carstens, who is US President Joe Biden’s hostage envoy, and Daniel Rubinstein, a senior adviser in the Bureau of Near East Affairs.
The spokesperson also said the delegation engaged with civil society groups and members of different communities in Syria “about their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them”.
The meeting was a show of readiness to deal with HTS, which the US still designates as a terrorist organisation but is building pressure for it to transition to inclusive, non-sectarian government.
Washington is effectively laying down a set of conditions before it would consider delisting the group – a critical step which could help ease the path towards sanctions relief that Damascus desperately needs.
Meanwhile, US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that IS leader Abu Yusif and two of his operatives had been killed in an air strike in the Deir al-Zour province of north-eastern Syria.
It said in a statement on Friday that the airstrike was launched on Thursday and carried out in an area that was formerly controlled by the Assad regime and Russian forces supporting his government.
CENTCOM commander Gen Michael Erik Kurilla said the US would not allow IS “to take advantage of the current situation in Syria and reconstitute”, adding the group intended to free more than 8,000 detained IS militants being held in Syria.