By Abiola Olawale
President of the United States, Joe Biden has disclosed that he is already planning to engage with all rebel forces in Syria after President Bashar al-Assad’s administration fell on Sunday.
Biden said the move to engage “all Syrian groups” is to ensure a peaceful political transition in the country.
“We will engage with all Syrian groups, including within the process led by the United Nations, to establish a transition away from the Assad regime toward independent, sovereign” Syria “with a new constitution.”
Biden also said fallen al-Assad should be held responsible for his rule over Syria now that his government has been toppled.
Asked what should happen to the deposed president, who reportedly has fled to Moscow, Biden told reporters that “Assad should be held accountable.”
He called al-Assad’s fall from power a “moment of historic opportunity” for Syria.
“The fall of the regime is a fundamental act of justice. It’s a moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria.”
The New Diplomat reports that this comes after al-Assad, in a surprising turn of events, fled Syria and sought refuge in an undisclosed location abroad.
The escape was said to have come after a significant shift in the ongoing conflict, as rebel forces succeeded in overtaking key government strongholds scattered across the country.
Early Sunday, the rebel forces announced they had entered Damascus and that Assad had fled, prompting celebrations around the country and a ransacking of Assad’s luxurious home.
