JERUSALEM – Syria’s prime minister said Monday that most ministers were still working from their offices in Damascus after rebels entered the capital over the weekend and overthrew President Bashar Assad. Streams of refugees have arrived from neighboring countries, hoping for a more peaceful future.

But there were already signs of trouble ahead for the rebel alliance which now controls much of the country and is led by a former Al-Qaeda militant which severed ties with the extremist group years ago and promised representative government and religious tolerance. Rebel command said Monday it would not tell women how to dress.

Israel said it was carrying out airstrikes on suspected chemical weapons and long-range rocket sites to prevent them from falling into the hands of extremists. Israel also seized a buffer zone inside Syria after the withdrawal of Syrian troops.

In northern Syria, Turkey said allied opposition forces had captured the town of Manbij from U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces, recalling that even after Assad left for Russia, the country remains divided between armed groups that fought in the past.

The Kremlin said Russia granted political asylum to Assada decision taken by President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on Assad’s whereabouts and said Putin had no plans to meet with him.

Damascus was calm on Monday, with life slowly returning to normal while most shops and public institutions were closed. In public squares, some were still partying. Civilian traffic resumed but there was no public transport. Long lines formed in front of bakeries and other food stores.

There was little sign of a security presence and Associated Press journalists saw a few SUVs on the side of a main boulevard that appeared to have been broken into.

In some areas, small groups of armed men were stationed in the streets. A video circulating online showed a man in military fatigues holding a rifle trying to reassure residents of Damascus’ Mezzeh neighborhood that they would not be harmed.

“We have nothing against you, neither Alawites, nor Christians, nor Shiites, nor Druze, but everyone must behave well and no one must try to attack us,” the fighter said.

Prime Minister says government is still operational

Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali, who remained in his post after the disappearance of Assad and most of his top officials over the weekend, has sought to project a normal situation.

“We are working to ensure that the transition period is quick and smooth,” he said on Sky News Arabia TV on Monday, saying the security situation had already improved compared to the day before.

He said the government was coordinating its efforts with the insurgents and was ready to meet rebel leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, who made a triumphant appearance on Sunday in a famous mosque in Damascus.

Syrians who only days ago worked at every level of Assad’s government bureaucracy were adjusting to the new reality.

At the Damascus justice court, stormed by rebels to free detainees, Judge Khitam Haddad, advisor to the Minister of Justice of the outgoing government, declared on Sunday that the judges were ready to resume their work quickly.

“We want to give everyone their rights,” Haddad said outside the courthouse. “We want to build a new Syria and continue the work, but with new methods. »

The rebels, for their part, said they would guarantee individual freedoms and would not impose Islamic dress on women. “It is strictly prohibited to interfere with the dress of women or impose any requirements related to their dress or appearance, including requests for modesty,” the general command said in a statement published on the networks social.

Separately, a Syrian opposition observer said a top aide to Assad’s brother Maher was found dead in his office near Damascus. A video that circulated on social media reportedly showed Major General Ali Mahmoud covered in blood and his clothes burned. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was unclear whether he was killed or committed suicide.

Maher Assad led the army’s 4th Armored Division, which played a major role in the civil war that broke out in 2011, after a popular uprising against Assad led to a violent crackdown on dissent and the rise of ‘an insurrection.

Israel confirms firing suspected chemical weapons and rockets

Israelis welcomed the fall of Assad, who was a key ally of Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah, while expressing concern about what happens next. Israel says its forces have temporarily seized a buffer zone inside Syria dating from a 1974 deal after Syrian troops withdrew amid chaos.

“The only interest we have is the security of Israel and its citizens,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told reporters on Monday. “That is why we attacked strategic weapons systems, such as remaining chemical weapons, or long-range missiles and rockets, so that they do not fall into the hands of extremists.

Saarland did not provide details on when and where the strikes took place.

An AP journalist in Damascus reported airstrikes in the area of ​​the Mezzeh military airport, southwest of the capital, on Sunday. The airport has previously been targeted by Israeli airstrikes. Strikes were also heard in the capital on Monday.

Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria in recent years, targeting what it considers military sites linked to Iran and Hezbollah. Israeli officials rarely comment on individual strikes.

Syria agreed to give up its chemical weapons stockpiles in 2013, after the government was accused of releasing chemical weapons. an attack near Damascus that killed hundreds of people. But it is widely believed that he kept some weapons and was accused of using them again in subsequent years.

Turkey says its allies have captured a northern town

Officials in Turkey, who is the main supporter of Syrian opposition to Assad, says his allies have taken full control of the northern Syrian town of Manbij from a US-backed force led by the Kurds, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF.

The SDF said a Turkish drone struck the village of al-Mistriha in eastern Syria, killing 12 civilians, including six children.

Turkey views the SDF, which is primarily made up of a Syrian Kurdish militia, as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency in Turkey. The SDF has also been a key U.S. ally in the war against the Islamic State group.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday expressed hope for a new era in Syria in which ethnic and religious groups can live in peace under an inclusive government. But he warned against allowing Islamic State or Kurdish fighters to take advantage of the situation, saying Turkey would prevent Syria from turning into a “safe haven for terrorism”.

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Mroue reported from Beirut and Goldenberg from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report.

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Follow AP’s Syria coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/syria