Autonomous Administration Refuses to Implement Decisions of New Syrian Govt

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on March 30, 2025, shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (6th-R) and Foreign Minister Asaad al-Sahibani (6th-L) posing for a picture with the new transitional government in Damascus. (SANA / AFP)
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on March 30, 2025, shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (6th-R) and Foreign Minister Asaad al-Sahibani (6th-L) posing for a picture with the new transitional government in Damascus. (SANA / AFP)
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Autonomous Administration Refuses to Implement Decisions of New Syrian Govt

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on March 30, 2025, shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (6th-R) and Foreign Minister Asaad al-Sahibani (6th-L) posing for a picture with the new transitional government in Damascus. (SANA / AFP)
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on March 30, 2025, shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (6th-R) and Foreign Minister Asaad al-Sahibani (6th-L) posing for a picture with the new transitional government in Damascus. (SANA / AFP)

The Kurdish Autonomous Administration in northeastern Syria criticized on Sunday the new Syrian transitional government, saying it does not reflect the diversity in the country.

Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced the new 23-minister government lineup on Saturday, vowing to rebuild a “strong and stable state” that was destroyed by years of war.

The cabinet included Yarub Badr, an Alawite who was named transportation minister, while Amgad Badr, who belongs to the Druze community, will lead the agriculture ministry.

Hind Kabawat, a Christian woman and part of the previous opposition to Assad who worked for interfaith tolerance and women's empowerment, was appointed as social affairs and labor minister.

The autonomous authorities said the new government failed in “providing fair and real representation” for all the Syrian people, saying it will not abide by its decisions.

In a statement, it said the new cabinet “was very similar to its predecessors in that it does not take into account the diversity in the country.”

“It won’t be able to run the country smoothly and help it end its crisis. Rather, it will deepen the crisis and fail in addressing the problems that caused it in the first place,” it charged.

“Insistence on repeating past mistakes will harm the Syrians and will not lead to the launch of a comprehensive political process that can reach solutions to pending problems,” it went on to say.

The statement called for an end to “policies of marginalization and elimination,” urging that Syrians of all segments, religions and sects be represented.

The government announcement was welcomed by the Syrian people, Arab and international community, which has offered to help the country in its reconstruction process.



Lebanon’s Supreme Defense Council Urges Hamas to Hand Over Suspects in Rocket Attacks

Lebanese Army personnel at the site of an Israeli strike targeting a militant group leader south of Beirut last week (AFP).
Lebanese Army personnel at the site of an Israeli strike targeting a militant group leader south of Beirut last week (AFP).
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Lebanon’s Supreme Defense Council Urges Hamas to Hand Over Suspects in Rocket Attacks

Lebanese Army personnel at the site of an Israeli strike targeting a militant group leader south of Beirut last week (AFP).
Lebanese Army personnel at the site of an Israeli strike targeting a militant group leader south of Beirut last week (AFP).

A senior Lebanese source has revealed that authorities will demand Hamas to hand over remaining individuals implicated in recent rocket attacks launched from Kfartebnit and Qaqaiyat al-Jisr—two towns located north of the Litani River, overlooking southern Lebanon—toward the Israeli settlements of Metula and Kiryat Shmona. The suspects are also believed to have stored rockets and launchers in a warehouse raided by the Lebanese Army, which seized several of the weapons, some prepared for imminent use.
The source told Asharq Al-Awsat that this demand will top the agenda of the first meeting of the Supreme Defense Council, scheduled for Friday and to be chaired by President Joseph Aoun.
The Council is also expected to discuss the security situation in southern Lebanon amid Beirut’s unilateral commitment to the ceasefire agreement, contrasted by what it views as Israel’s noncompliance. The session will further address recent incidents in which local residents blocked UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) from entering certain villages, citing the lack of coordination with the Lebanese Army. Additional topics include logistical, administrative, and security preparations by the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities ahead of the first round of municipal elections in Mount Lebanon this coming Sunday.
According to the source, the Lebanese Army’s intelligence directorate has, under judicial supervision, compiled a list of wanted Hamas members based on interrogations with detained suspects involved in the rocket attacks.
The source did not rule out the possibility that the suspects may have sought refuge in Palestinian refugee camps, particularly Ain al-Hilweh in southern Lebanon, where Hamas may be protecting them in neighborhoods controlled by extremist factions.
The source argued that Palestinian weapons have lost their original purpose of defending against Israeli attacks and are now largely used for internal conflict and endangering nearby communities.
Disarming Palestinian groups inside the camps, the source said, aligns with the insistence of both Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government that all arms remain under the state’s authority. The matter is also expected to feature prominently in upcoming talks between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and Lebanese officials during his mid-month visit to Beirut.
On broader security concerns, the source noted that Lebanon is stepping up containment measures around the camps to prevent the militarization of nearby towns, especially those close to the Litani River.
Regarding Sunday’s Israeli airstrike on a warehouse in Beirut’s southern suburb, the source confirmed that the Lebanese Army had received no prior warning through the United States. Instead, Lebanese officials learned of the strike via media reports. This prompted Aoun to make urgent calls to several countries, including the US and France, which are considered guarantors of the ceasefire agreement. Subsequent information reportedly disproved Israel’s stated justification for the attack.