Syria's Defense Ministry has accused Hezbollah, a former ally of ousted President Bashar al-Assad, of kidnapping three Syrian soldiers, then taking them to Lebanon and executing them, AFP reported, quoted by BTA.
„A group from the Hezbollah militia“ [...] kidnapped three members of the Syrian army on the Syrian-Lebanese border [...], then took them to Lebanese territory and killed them," the ministry said, quoted by the official SANA news agency.
The ministry added that it would take "all necessary measures following this dangerous escalation by Hezbollah," specifying that it took place near the Zeita dam, west of Homs, in central Syria.
In a statement, Hezbollah denied having taken part in clashes with Syrian security forces or on Syrian territory.
The Lebanese Islamist movement said it "categorically denies any connection with the events taking place today on the Lebanese-Syrian border" and "confirmed its previous statements that "Hezbollah" has no connection with the events taking place on Syrian territory."
In addition, the official Lebanese news agency NNA reported that missiles fired from Syria fell in the Lebanese village of Qasr, near the border.
Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa signed a constitutional declaration last Thursday that leaves the country under the rule of the Islamist group "Hayat Tahrir al-Sham" (HTS) during a transitional period that will last five years, world agencies and the Syrian state news agency SANA reported, quoted by BTA.
The former leader of the group, Ash Sharaa, is now the country's interim president - a decision that was announced after a meeting of the armed groups that participated in the offensive against President Bashar Assad. At the same meeting, the groups agreed to repeal the country's old constitution and said a new one would be drafted.
The signed constitutional declaration grants the interim president broad powers to form the legislative, executive and judicial branches, although it proclaims the principle of the separation of powers, according to Agence France-Presse.
“The constitutional declaration grants absolute powers to the interim president“, said constitutional law professor Sam Dalla.
It establishes a “presidential-type system of government“, with executive power in the hands of the president and ministers he will appoint. This excludes the creation of the post of prime minister, the Syrian expert said.
Abdulhamid al-Awq, one of the seven members of the committee tasked with drafting the constitutional declaration, said at a press conference on Thursday that it would retain some provisions of the previous constitution, including the requirement that the head of state must be Muslim and that Islamic law is the basis of judicial practice.
However, al-Awq, a constitutional law expert who teaches at Mardin Artuklu University in Turkey, also said that the constitutional declaration includes provisions that establish freedom of expression and the press. According to him, this temporary basic law will “balance between social security and freedom“ during the unstable political situation in Syria.
According to the text of the document, the interim president will “appoint one-third“ of the members of the future legislative assembly and will form a commission that will determine the members of the electoral college responsible for electing the remaining deputies, AFP notes.
Although the program document declares the “independence of the Syrian judiciary”, it also grants the interim president the right to appoint members of the highest judicial body – Constitutional Court.
“If the president directly or indirectly elects the members of the legislative assembly, appoints and dismisses the ministers and himself appoints the members of the Constitutional Court [...] what then remains of the principle of separation of powers?“, Dalla noted.
“The concentration of powers in the hands of one person will inevitably lead to the monopolization of the decision-making process“, the expert warned.
Among the changes introduced compared to the previous constitution is the formulation that Islamic law becomes the “main source“ of judicial practice, and not just a “main source“, as it was until now.
Islam remains the state religion, and Arabic remains the only official language. However, the document protects freedom of religion, rejects any discrimination and confirms that all citizens are equal before the law, without explicitly mentioning the Alawite, Christian, Kurdish and Druze minorities.
The interim Syrian president will also have the right to declare a state of emergency in the country, the constitutional declaration states.
According to the document signed by Ash Sharaa, “the transitional period in the country will last five years“, TASS reported.
The constitutional declaration also includes guarantees for women's rights to education and work, the commission tasked with drafting it said.
A new commission will be formed to draft a permanent constitution, but it is unclear whether it will include political, religious and ethnic groups in Syria to a greater extent.
The The Kurdish administration in northeastern Syria, however, sharply criticized the constitutional declaration adopted by the new Syrian authorities, saying it did not reflect the "diversity" of the country, AFP reported.
The declaration "contradicts the reality of Syria and its diversity," the administration said, adding that it "does not reflect the spirit of the Syrian people and its various components - from Kurds to Arabs, Syrians, Assyrians and other components of the Syrian nation."
The Syrian Kurds, who last week signed an agreement with the government of al-Sharaa to integrate their institutions into the Syrian state, called for "fair distribution of power" and "the adoption of a decentralized democratic system of governance."