US scraps terrorist bounty for Syria’s HTS leader after first official talks
The US on Friday dropped its $10 million reward for the capture of Ahmed al-Sharaa, leader of Syria's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebel group, following the first in-person official meeting in Damascus between the two sides.
A senior US diplomat told Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Friday that Washington was scrapping a reward for his arrest as she welcomed "positive messages" from their talks, including a promise to fight terrorism.
Barbara Leaf, part of the first formal visit by US diplomats to Damascus since the early days of the brutal civil war, said she told Sharaa of the "critical need to ensure terrorist groups cannot pose a threat inside of Syria or externally, including to the US and our partners in the region."
"Ahmed al-Sharaa committed to this," Leaf told reporters after the meeting in Damascus.
"Based on our discussion, I told him we would not be pursuing the Rewards for Justice reward offer," she said.
Sharaa and his rebels, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, remain on Washington's terror blacklist. Leaf did not comment on the designation but said that after her discussions with Sharaa, "it's a little incoherent, then, to have a bounty on the guy's head."
Sharaa has spoken of inclusion and disbanding rebel factions. Leaf said she reinforced "the importance of inclusion and broad consultation during this time of transition."
'No to religious rule'
In Damascus, demonstrators chanted "No to religious rule", and "We want a democracy, not a religious state."
Read more on FRANCE 24 English
Read also:
Fallout of Assad’s ouster in Syria ripples down the Mediterranean to Libya
Thousands take to the streets in northeast Syria in support of Kurdish-led force
