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US Lawmakers Celebrate Assad’s Fall, Stress ‘Vigilance’ in Monitoring Next Steps in Syria
US Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID) speaks during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing at the US Capitol, in Washington, DC, May 21, 2024. Photo: Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
US lawmakers have celebrated the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria but also cautioned that many of the rebel Islamist groups who helped to oust the longtime president could pose further threats to the United States and its allies in the Middle East.
Assad fled the capital of Damascus on Sunday as a coalition of rebel groups stormed the capital, ending his family’s five-decade rule. The deposed leader, who has been accused of war crimes for his crackdown on rebel forces since 2011, was a partner of Russia and allied with Iran, which for years has used Syrian territory to send weapons to its terrorist proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon.
However, many Western observers have expressed concern that the leading Syrian rebel faction, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), is a group formerly allied with Al Qaeda and which is designated a terrorist organization by the US, European Union, Turkey, and the UN.
Following Assad’s fall, US lawmakers were quick to call for both optimism and vigilance.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, posted on X/Twitter that he hopes for a “better future for the Syrian people” following the fall of Assad, but warned about the potential threat of the terrorist group Islamic State (ISIS) in the region.
“As we bid good riddance to Assad, and hope for a better future for the Syrian people, we must remain vigilant regarding the threat of ISIS and continue to support our partners the Syrian Kurds. This is not a time to let our guard down,” Van Hollen said.
On Sunday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the successful bombing of ISIS camps and fighters in central Syria, saying that the operation was carried out to “disrupt, degrade, and defeat” the terrorist group and prevent it from capitalizing on the fall of the Assad regime.
Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, expressed optimism at the new “opportunity” that Assad’s departure represents. However, he added that Syria must adopt a democratic process to select its next leader.
“While it is a time for opportunity, it is also a potentially dangerous time for the region,” Risch said in a statement. “Moving forward, it is imperative the Syrian people choose their next government and Assad faces long-overdue justice for his war crimes.”
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, called for a “peaceful transition” of power in Syria and warned the country’s new leaders to “avoid the chaos that often follows the fall of a tyrant.”
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) stated that the US must remain “vigilant” in protecting its allies and citizens across the region.
“While it’s welcome news to see the humiliation of Russia and Iran and the end of Assad’s tyranny in Syria, we must be vigilant about protecting our citizens, interests, and allies in the region,” hewrote on X/Twitter. “Distrust but verify the intentions of anyone that might come to power.”
A US State Department spokesperson said on Monday that the Biden administration was seeking ways to engage with Syrian rebel groups and was reaching out to partners in the region such as Turkey to help launch informal diplomacy.
The post US Lawmakers Celebrate Assad’s Fall, Stress ‘Vigilance’ in Monitoring Next Steps in Syria first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Kurdish-led SDF Say Five Members Killed During Attack by Islamic State in Syria
Islamic State slogans painted along the walls of the tunnel was used by Islamic State militants as an underground training camp in the hillside overlooking Mosul, Iraq, March 4, 2017. Photo: via Reuters Connect.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said on Sunday that five of its members had been killed during an attack by Islamic State militants on a checkpoint in eastern Syria’s Deir el-Zor on July 31.
The SDF was the main fighting force allied to the United States in Syria during fighting that defeated Islamic State in 2019 after the group declared a caliphate across swathes of Syria and Iraq.
The Islamic State has been trying to stage a comeback in the Middle East, the West and Asia. Deir el-Zor city was captured by Islamic State in 2014, but the Syrian army retook it in 2017.
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Armed Groups Attack Security Force Personnel in Syria’s Sweida, Killing One, State TV Reports
People ride a motorcycle past a burned-out military vehicle, following deadly clashes between Druze fighters, Sunni Bedouin tribes, and government forces, in Syria’s predominantly Druze city of Sweida, Syria, July 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Armed groups attacked personnel from Syria’s internal security forces in Sweida, killing one member and wounding others, and fired shells at several villages in the violence-hit southern province, state-run Ekhbariya TV reported on Sunday.
The report cited a security source as saying the armed groups had violated the ceasefire agreed in the predominantly Druze region, where factional bloodshed killed hundreds of people last month.
Violence in Sweida erupted on July 13 between tribal fighters and Druze factions. Government forces were sent to quell the fighting, but the bloodshed worsened, and Israel carried out strikes on Syrian troops in the name of the Druze.
The Druze are a minority offshoot of Islam with followers in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Sweida province is predominantly Druze but is also home to Sunni tribes, and the communities have had long-standing tensions over land and other resources.
A US-brokered truce ended the fighting, which had raged in Sweida city and surrounding towns for nearly a week. Syria said it would investigate the clashes, setting up a committee to investigate the attacks.
The Sweida bloodshed last month was a major test for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, after a wave of sectarian violence in March that killed hundreds of Alawite citizens in the coastal region.
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Netanyahu Urges Red Cross to Aid Gaza Hostages
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, in Jerusalem, May 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he spoke with the International Red Cross’s regional head, Julien Lerisson, and requested his involvement in providing food and medical care to hostages held in Gaza.