French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock were in the Syrian capital for talks on behalf of the European Union, in the highest-level visit by major Western powers since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad last month.
One of their first stops was Syria’s notorious Sednaya prison, north of the capital.
Accompanied by White Helmet rescuers, Barrot and Baerbock toured the cells and underground dungeons of Sednaya, an emblem of atrocities committed against Assad’s opponents.
Sednaya was the site of extrajudicial executions, torture and forced disappearances. An advocacy group said more than 4,000 people were freed from the detention facility when rebel forces took Damascus on December 8.
Speaking to journalists at the French embassy in Damascus shortly after arriving in the Syrian capital from Lebanon, Barrot expressed his hopes for a “sovereign, stable and peaceful” Syria.
It was also a “hope that the aspirations of all Syrians can be realised”, he added, “but it is a fragile hope”.
The visit by the French and German foreign ministers came weeks after rebels, led by the Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), ousted Assad from power. France 24
