Syria International Airport reopens as government pressures for stability

The new Syrian government said on Saturday that the main international airport in Damascus will reopen next week, as part of its attempt to restore a sense of normalcy after the war. The uprising that toppled President Bashar al-Assad.

This announcement came amid tensions along the border between Syria and Lebanon, where four Lebanese soldiers were injured in clashes on Friday evening. The Lebanese army said that Syrian militants opened fire on Lebanese soldiers along the border.

Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s new de facto leader, faces the challenge of imposing order on a country in chaos. Devastated by 14 years of civil war Which led to its division into multiple warring regions and stimulated a The spread of armed groups.

Mr. Sharaa, who leads Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamist group that led the surprise attack that ousted Mr. Assad, has worked to project a moderate image, Meeting with Western dignitaries And trying to reassure Syrians and foreign governments alike that the country is on a stable path.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati spoke with Mr. Sharaa to discuss the violence on the border, according to the Lebanese leader’s office. Mr. Mikati’s office said in a statement that Mr. Al-Sharaa pledged during the call that “the Syrian authorities are doing everything necessary to restore calm on the border and prevent the matter from recurring.”

Authorities in countries bordering Syria feared that the overthrow of Mr. Assad would lead to chaos that could spread.

In eastern Syria, Turkish-backed fighters continue to fight Kurdish forces, which have established an autonomous region. At the same time, sporadic clashes broke out between the new regime and… Strongholds remain loyal to Mr. Assad.

The official Syrian News Agency (SANA) reported that forces affiliated with the new Syrian government searched on Saturday for “remnants of the Assad militias” near the city of Homs in the center of the country, after arresting two former officials overnight.

In an attempt to ward off possible attacks from Syrian territory, Israeli forces did this Bombing military sites across the country and sent their forces into the buffer zone that was demilitarized between the two sides. Jordan also partially closed its land crossing with Syria.

Mr. Al-Sharaa and his allies sought to dissolve the remaining armed groups under the auspices of a single armed force. Last week, they officially appointed a new acting defense minister to oversee the transition.

Here are other developments in the region:

• Gaza fighting: The Israeli military said its soldiers are continuing a three-month ground operation in northern Gaza, where Gaza health officials say Israeli forces are besieging the Indonesian Hospital, one of the last hospitals in the area. The Israeli military says it does not intend to evacuate the approximately 20 patients and medical workers in the complex immediately. Israel has repeatedly raided hospitals since the beginning of the war in Gaza, under the pretext that Hamas is using them as military bases. Hamas denied this accusation.