DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A few days after insurgents in Syria overthrew President Bashar Assad, his ruling Baath party announced it was freezing its activities, marking a stunning change in fortunes for the political group that had ruled for more than six decades.
Many members of the party's leadership have gone into hiding and some have fled the country. In a symbolic move, Syria's new rulers have turned the former party headquarters in Damascus into a center where former members of the army and security forces line up to register their names and hand over their weapons.
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FILE.- A man shows old pictures of the late Syrian President Hafez Assad as people search for belongings in the ransacked private residence of Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus, Syria, on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed,File)
FILE.- A torn posters shows the late Syrian President Hafez Assad and his son the ousted Syrian president Bashar Assad, that were set at the entrance of the notorious security detention centre called Palestine Branch, in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla,File)
FILE.- Pro-Syrian government demonstrators hold a rally at Sabe Bahrat Square to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the foundation of the Ruling Baath Arab Socialist Party in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, April 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi,File)
FILE PHOTO.- A Syrian woman shows her ballot paper at a polling station during a referendum on the new constitution aimed at quelling the country's uprising by ending the ruling Baath Party's five-decade domination of power, in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman,File)
FILE.- Syrian Baath Party supporters chant slogans, as they carry Syrian flags and portraits of Syrian President Bashar Assad in support of Assad in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday March 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein,File)
FILE.- A Syrian fighter, left, stands guard as members of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad's army step on his portrait as a sign of disdain, lining up before they register their names with Syrian rebels as part of an "identification and reconciliation process" in Damascus, Syria, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla,File)
FILE.- A Syrian fighter from rebel group, fires towards a poster at the entrance of the notorious security detention centre called Palestine Branch, which pictures the late Syrian President Hafez Assad and his son the ouster Syrian president Bashar Assad, in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla,File)
FILE.- An opposition fighter steps on a broken bust of the late Syrian President Hafez Assad in Damascus, Syria, Sunday Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla,File)
FILE.- A cover showing ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad, seen on a desk at the Baath party headquarter, as former army soldiers, background, wait to register their names with Syrian rebels as part of an "identification and reconciliation" process in Damascus, Syria, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla,File)
Calls are on the rise to officially dissolve the Arab Socialist Baath Party that had ruled Syria since 1963.
Many Syrians — including former party members — say its rule damaged relations with other Arab countries and aided in the spread of corruption that brought the war-torn nation to its knees.
“The party should not only be dissolved, it should go to hell,” said Mohammed Hussein Ali, 64, who worked for a state oil company and was a party member for decades until he quit at the start of Syria’s anti-government uprising in 2011 that turned into civil war. He never left the country and said he is happy the Baath rule is over.
An official with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, the group that led the insurgent offensive that overthrew Assad, said no official decision has been made on what to do with the Baath party.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter, noted that HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa has said that officials who committed crimes against the Syrian people over the past decades will be brought to justice and hinted that they include party members.
The Baath party, whose aim was to unify Arab states in one nation, was founded by two Syrian Arab nationalists, Michel Aflaq and Salaheddine Bitar, in 1947 and at one point ruled two Arab countries, Iraq and Syria.
A rivalry developed between the Syrian branch under Assad and his late father, Hafez, and the one in Iraq under Saddam Hussein, who was removed from power by a U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
In Syria, the Baath party became inextricably associated with the Assad family, which took power in 1970. For decades, the family used the party and its pan-Arab ideology to control the country. Many senior military jobs were held by members of the family’s minority Alawite sect, and party membership was used as a cover to give it a nationalist rather than a sectarian nature.
A former soldier and decades-long Baath party member who came to party headquarters to cut his military ties, Abdul-Rahman Ali, said he had no idea it was founded by Aflaq and Bitar. He had always thought that Hafez Assad was the founder.
“I am happy. We have been liberated from fear,” said Ali, 43. “Even the walls had ears. We didn't dare express opinions with anyone.” He was referring to the dreaded security and intelligence agencies that detained and tortured people who expressed criticism of Assad or government officials.
Many Syrians were required to join the Baath Vanguards, the party's youth branch, while in elementary school, where Arab nationalist and socialist ideology was emphasized.
It was difficult for people who were not party members to get government jobs or join the army or the security and intelligence services.
In 2012, a year after Syria's uprising began, a paragraph of the constitution stating that the Baath party was the leader of the nation and society was abolished, in a move aimed to appease the public's demand for political reforms. In practice, however, the party remained in control, with members holding majority seats in parliament and government.
Another former soldier, who gave only his first name, Ghadir, out of fear of reprisals as a member of the Alawite sect, said he came from a poor family and joined the party so he could enter the military for a stable income.
“You could not take any job if you were not a Baathist,” he said.
While few are mourning the party's fall in Syria, some are concerned that the Sunni majority that now controls the country could carry out a purge similar to the one in Iraq after Saddam’s fall.
A de-Baathification committee was formed in Iraq and its main job was purging Saddam loyalists from government and military institutions. The Sunni minority considered it a means of sectarian score-settling by Iraq’s Shiite majority. The Sunni resentment and disenfranchisement that followed helped to drive the rise of extremist groups in the country including al-Qaida and the Islamic State in Iraq.
In Syria, a Baath party statement issued three days after Assad’s fall called on all members to hand their weapons and public cars to the new authorities.
On Dec. 24, party member and former army colonel Mohammed Merhi was among hundreds who lined up at the former party headquarters and handed over weapons.
Merhi said the Baath party should be given another opportunity because its principles are good but were exploited over decades. But he said he might want to join another party if Syria becomes a multiparty democracy in the future.
He handed over his Soviet Makarov pistol and received a document saying he can now move freely in the country after reconciling with the new authorities.
“I want to become again a normal Syrian citizen and work to build a new Syria,” he said.
FILE.- A man shows old pictures of the late Syrian President Hafez Assad as people search for belongings in the ransacked private residence of Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus, Syria, on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed,File)
FILE.- A torn posters shows the late Syrian President Hafez Assad and his son the ousted Syrian president Bashar Assad, that were set at the entrance of the notorious security detention centre called Palestine Branch, in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla,File)
FILE.- Pro-Syrian government demonstrators hold a rally at Sabe Bahrat Square to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the foundation of the Ruling Baath Arab Socialist Party in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, April 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi,File)
FILE PHOTO.- A Syrian woman shows her ballot paper at a polling station during a referendum on the new constitution aimed at quelling the country's uprising by ending the ruling Baath Party's five-decade domination of power, in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman,File)
FILE.- Syrian Baath Party supporters chant slogans, as they carry Syrian flags and portraits of Syrian President Bashar Assad in support of Assad in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday March 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein,File)
FILE.- A Syrian fighter, left, stands guard as members of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad's army step on his portrait as a sign of disdain, lining up before they register their names with Syrian rebels as part of an "identification and reconciliation process" in Damascus, Syria, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla,File)
FILE.- A Syrian fighter from rebel group, fires towards a poster at the entrance of the notorious security detention centre called Palestine Branch, which pictures the late Syrian President Hafez Assad and his son the ouster Syrian president Bashar Assad, in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla,File)
FILE.- An opposition fighter steps on a broken bust of the late Syrian President Hafez Assad in Damascus, Syria, Sunday Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla,File)
FILE.- A cover showing ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad, seen on a desk at the Baath party headquarter, as former army soldiers, background, wait to register their names with Syrian rebels as part of an "identification and reconciliation" process in Damascus, Syria, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla,File)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans mourned, wept and danced at a vigil Saturday evening along the famous thoroughfare where a man rammed a pickup truck into a crowd, killing and injuring revelers who were there to celebrate the new year.
A makeshift memorial of crosses and pictures of the 14 deceased victims amassed with candles, flowers and teddy bears. Victims' relatives held each other, some crying. But as a brass band began playing, the sorrow transformed into a celebration of life as the crowd snapped fingers, swayed and followed the music down Bourbon Street.
The coroner’s office listed the cause of death for all 14 victims as “blunt force injuries.” Beyond the deaths, authorities say about 30 other people suffered injuries in the attack early Wednesday by Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a former U.S. Army soldier who proclaimed his support for the Islamic State militant group in online videos posted hours before he struck.
Police fatally shot Jabbar, 42, during a firefight at the scene of the deadly crash on Bourbon Street, famous worldwide for its festive vibes in New Orleans’ historic French Quarter.
University Medical Center New Orleans spokesperson Carolina Giepert said 13 people remained hospitalized, with eight people in intensive care.
Cathy Tenedorio, who lost her 25-year-old son Matthew, said she was moved by the flood of condolences and kindness at Saturday's vigil.
“This is the most overwhelming response of love, an outpouring of love. I’m floating through it all,” she said.
New Orleans native Autrele Felix, 28, left a handwritten card beside a memorial for his friend Nicole Perez, a single mother who was killed.
“It means a lot, to see that our city comes together when there’s a real tragedy,” Felix said. “We all become one.”
Others who crowded around the brass band said the best way to honor the victims was with a party.
“Because that’s what they were down here to do, they were having a good time,” life-long New Orleans resident Kari Mitten said.
President Joe Biden planned to travel to New Orleans with first lady Jill Biden on Monday to “grieve with the families and community members impacted by the tragic attack.”
Federal authorities searching Jabbar's Houston home found a workbench in the garage and hazardous materials believed to have been used to make explosive devices, according to law enforcement officials familiar with the search.
Jabbar had suspected bomb-making materials at his home and reserved the vehicle used in the attack more than six weeks earlier, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly about the inquiry.
Jabbar purchased a cooler in Vidor, Texas, hours before the attack and gun oil from a store in Sulphur, Louisiana. He also booked his truck rental on Nov. 14, suggesting he may have been plotting the attack for more than six weeks, authorities said.
Authorities found crude bombs that had been planted in the neighborhood in an apparent attempt to cause more carnage. Two improvised explosive devices left in coolers several blocks apart were rendered safe at the scene. Other devices were determined to be nonfunctional, officials said.
Investigators searching Jabbar's rental truck found a transmitter intended to trigger the two bombs, the FBI said in a statement Friday, adding that there were bomb-making materials at the New Orleans home Jabbar rented prior to the attack. Jabbar tried to burn down the house by setting a small fire in a hallway and placing accelerants to help spread it, the FBI said. The flames burned out before firefighters arrived.
Authorities on Friday were still investigating Jabbar's motives and how he carried out the attack. They say he exited the crashed truck wearing a ballistic vest and helmet and fired at police, wounding at least two officers before he was fatally shot by officers returning fire.
New Orleans police declined to say Friday how many shots were fired by Jabbar and police or whether any bystanders may have been hit, citing the active investigation.
Stella Cziment, who heads the city's civilian-run Office of the Independent Police Monitor, said investigators are working to account for “every single bullet that was fired” and whether any of them struck bystanders.
Police have used multiple vehicles and barricades to block traffic at Bourbon and Canal streets since the attack. Other law enforcement agencies helped city officers provide extra security, said Reese Harper, a New Orleans police spokesperson.
The first parade of the Carnival season leading up to Mardi Gras was scheduled to take place Monday. New Orleans also will host the Super Bowl on Feb. 9.
“This enhanced safety effort will continue daily, not just during large events,” Harper said in a statement.
In a previous effort to protect the French Quarter, the city installed steel columns known as bollards to restrict vehicle access to Bourbon Street. The posts retracted to allow deliveries to bars and restaurants. They stopped working reliably after being gummed up by Mardi Gras beads, beer and other detritus.
When New Year’s Eve arrived, the bollards were gone. They will be replaced ahead of the Super Bowl, officials said.
New Orleans City Council President Helena Moreno took steps toward launching an investigation into the attack. In a memo to another council member obtained by the AP, Moreno said she was initiating the creation of a local and state legislative committee “dedicated to reviewing the incident and its implications.”
“This committee will play a crucial role in assessing our current policies, enhancing security measures, and ensuring that we are adequately prepared to respond to any future threats,” Moreno wrote.
The FBI concluded Jabbar was not aided by anyone else in the attack, which killed an 18-year-old aspiring nurse, a single mother, a father of two and a former Princeton University football star, among others.
The New Orleans coroner’s office has identified 13 of the 14 victims, with the youngest listed as 18 and the oldest 63. Most of the victims were in their 20s. One was a British citizen, 31-year-old Edward Pettifer of west London, according to London’s Metropolitan Police.
British media reported Pettifer was the stepson of Tiggy Legge-Bourke, who was the nanny for Prince William and Prince Harry between 1993 and 1999, which included the time after the death of their mother, Princess Diana.
At the vigil on Saturday, family members identified Tasha Polk, a mother and nursing assistant in her 40s, as the final victim of the attack.
The Bourbon Street attack was the deadliest IS-inspired assault on U.S. soil in years, laying bare what federal officials have warned is a resurgent international terrorism threat.
Mustian reported from Black Mountain, North Carolina, and Cline reported from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. AP reporters Eric Tucker and Tara Copp in Washington, D.C., Sharon Lurye in New Orleans, Jeff Martin in Atlanta, Martha Bellisle in Seattle, Darlene Superville in New Castle, Delaware, and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.
People walk past a memorial on Canal Street for the victims of a deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A woman paints a heart as friends of Kareem Badawi, a victim of the deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans, visit a memorial for victims after attending his funeral, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Flowers lie next to candles at a memorial for the victims of a deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
The Federal Bureau of Investigation released this photo on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2024, in relation to the investigation into a car driving into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. (Federal Bureau of Investigation via AP)
The Federal Bureau of Investigation released photos of surveillance footage that shows Shamsud-Din Jabbar an hour before he drove a truck down Bourbon Street, New Orleans, early Jan. 1, 2025.(Federal Bureau of Investigation via AP)
The Federal Bureau of Investigation released this photo of Shamsud-Din Jabbar on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2024. (Federal Bureau of Investigation via AP)
EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Security personnel investigate the scene on Bourbon Street after a vehicle drove into a crowd on New Orleans' Canal and Bourbon Street, Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A friend of Kareem Badawi, a victim of the deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans, pauses at a memorial for victims after attending his funeral, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Friends of Kareem Badawi, a victim of the deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans, pray at a memorial for victims after attending his funeral, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Friends of Kareem Badawi, a victim of the deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans, place flowers at a memorial for victims after attending his funeral, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A memorial on Bourbon Street sits at the site of a deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A friend of Kareem Badawi, a victim of the deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans, pauses at a memorial for victims after attending his funeral, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A memorial on Bourbon Street is seen at the site of a deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Flowers lie in the street at the site of a deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A couple pushes a child in a stroller on Bourbon Street at the site of a deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Friends of Kareem Badawi, a victim of the deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans, pray at a memorial for victims after attending his funeral, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Nathan Williams, a University of New Orleans student, lights a candle at memorial on Bourbon Street for the victims of a deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A woman places flowers next to photos of victim Matthew Tenedorio at memorial on Canal Street for the victims of a deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Alisa Kuhns, visiting from Santa Rosa, Calif. reacts at memorial on Bourbon Street for the victims of a deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Alisa Kuhns, visiting from Santa Rosa, Calif. reacts at memorial on Bourbon Street for the victims of a deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Katriel Faith Gibson, who lives nearby, reacts as she visits a memorial on Canal Street for the victims of a deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Katriel Faith Gibson, who lives nearby, reacts as she visits a memorial on Canal Street for the victims of a deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Flower pedals lie on the sidewalk at memorial on Canal Street for the victims of a deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in New Orleans, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A memorial sits outside a restaurant along Bourbon Street in the French Quarter, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Sav Bennly sits in front of a memorial at Bourbon and Canal Street in the French Quarter, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Shawn Westbrook prays at a memorial to the victims of a deadly truck attack on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
A memorial to the victims of a deadly truck attack is seen on Canal Street in the French Quarter, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
A memorial to the victims of a deadly truck attack is seen on Canal Street in the French Quarter, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
A memorial to the victims of a deadly truck attack is seen on Canal Street in the French Quarter, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Kelli Galle, right, hugs her son Parker, left, as they visit a memorial to the victims of a deadly truck attack on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Eddie Williams lights candles for his uncle, who was killed in a deadly truck attack, at a memorial to the victims on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Allyson Tomkins, right, prays with Emily Lara, 5, center, and her grandmother Charity Lara, right, at a memorial to the victims of a deadly truck attack on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
A memorial for the victims of a deadly truck attack on New Year's Day stands on the sidewalk in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
