Mohammad al-Bashir, who was appointed by the rebel groups as the transitional head of government to run the country until March, told Italy's Corriere della Sera daily that one of his first goals was to "bring back the millions of Syrian refugees who are abroad".
In an interview that was published on Wednesday, Bashir said, "Their human capital, their experience will allow the country to flourish."
"Mine is an appeal to all Syrians abroad: Syria is now a free country that has earned its pride and dignity. Come back. We must rebuild, be reborn, and we need everyone's help."
Assad fled Syria as an Islamist-led opposition alliance and took control of the capital, Damascus, over the weekend, marking the end of his family's brutal five-decade rule.
The nearly 14-year-long civil war in Syria lay claims to the lives of 500,000 people and displaced half of the population, with millions seeking refuge in other countries.
Syria now faces a period of significant uncertainty due to Assad's departure.
Concerns about potential sectarian violence have arisen, although the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which spearheaded the offensive, has tried to reassure religious minorities of their safety in the new Syria.
The diverse communities of the country together with Christians, Kurds and Alawites, are now waiting to see what sort of government Bashir will lead.
Assad government has been generally supported by Syria's Christian community since the beginning of the civil war in 2011, with the president, himself from the minority Alawite sect, positioning himself as a protector of minorities.
On Wednesday, Pope Francis who is the head of the Catholic Church, called for "mutual respect" between religions in Syria.
"I pray... that the Syrian people may live in peace and security in their beloved land and the different religions may walk together in friendship and mutual respect for the good of that nation afflicted by so many years of war," he said at his general audience at the Vatican.
Bashir told the Corriere that the "wrong behaviour of some Islamist groups has led many people, especially in the West, to associate Muslims with terrorism and Islam with extremism".
"The meaning of Islam, which is 'religion of justice', was distorted. Precisely because we are Islamic, we will guarantee the rights of all people and all sects in Syria," he said in the interview, published in Italian.
He also said, "We have no problem with anyone, state, party or sect, who kept their distance from the bloodthirsty Assad regime".
Assad fell in a lighting surprise offensive as his protector Russia is bogged down in its invasion of Ukraine and after Israel's military heavily degraded Assad's other key supporters -- Iran and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah.
blogpay
Total Comments: 0