Interim Syrian leader vows to rebuild but faces gutted economy [Video]

The main commander of the rebels who toppled Bashar al-Assad said on Wednesday that anyone involved in the torture or killing of detainees during the ousted president’s rule would be hunted down and pardons were out of the question.

“We will pursue them in Syria, and we ask countries to hand over those who fled so we can achieve justice,” Abu Mohammed al-Golani said in a statement published on the Syrian state TV’s Telegram channel.

The world is carefully watching to see if Syria’s new rulers can stabilize the country after a 13-year civil war fought along sectarian and ethnic lines destroyed the country.

Syria ran one of the most oppressive police states in the Middle East during five decades of Assad family rule. Golani, whose former al Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is now the country’s most powerful force, must balance demands for justice from victims with the …