Syria War News Live Updates: Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali confirmed at a meeting in Damascus on Monday to handover the power to the rebel forces after President Bashar al-Assad’s regime was ousted. The toppling of the Assad’s government was a “victory for the entire Islamic nation”, said Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the leader of the main rebel group, HTS which led the uprising.
What has the NATO Chief said? NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte expressed cautious optimism on Syria’s developments, urging a peaceful, Syrian-led political transition. He called on rebel leaders to uphold the rule of law, protect civilians, and respect religious minorities. Rutte also criticized Russia and Iran for abandoning Bashar Assad after their interests shifted, holding them responsible for crimes against the Syrian people.
How did the crisis start? Rebel forces had been kept at bay for more than a decade with Iranian and Russian military support. However, Al-Assad faced a surprise offensive launched from the country’s northwest. His government rapidly ceded territory, without much military defence or help of one of the country’s strongest allies, Iran, which began to evacuate its military commanders and personnel from Syria on Friday.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed the latest developments in Syria in phone call with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Tuesday, his office said.
"During the call, President Erdogan stated that Turkey will keep doing everything in its power for the establishment of a unified and terror-free Syria," Erdogan's office said in a post on X. (Reuters)
An Israeli military spokesperson on Tuesday denied that Israeli forces had penetrated into Syrian territory beyond the buffer zone with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights after Syrian sources said the incursion had reached up to 25 km from the capital Damascus.
"It's not true, the forces have not left the buffer zone," the spokesperson said. (Reuters)
Hundreds of Syrian refugees gathered at two border crossings in southern Turkey on Monday, eagerly anticipating their return home following the fall of Bashar Assad’s government.Many arrived at the Cilvegozu and Oncupinar gates at daybreak, draped in blankets and coats.
Some camped by the barriers, warming at makeshift fires. The crossings correspond to the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salameh gates on the Syrian side. (AP)
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emannuel Macron are prepared to work with the Syrian rebel groups who ousted President Bashar al-Assad on certain conditions, a German government statement after a phone call between the two leaders.
The leaders of the European Union's two largest powers welcomed the departure of Assad who had caused "terrible suffering to the Syrian people and great damage to his country". The Syrian leader fled Damascus for Moscow on Sunday, ending more than 50 years of brutal rule by his family. (Reuters)
An Israeli military incursion into southern Syria has reached about 25 km (16 miles) southwest of capital Damascus, two regional security sources and one Syrian security source said on Tuesday.
The Syrian security source said Israeli troops reached Qatana, which is 10 km into Syrian territory east of a demilitarized zone separating Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria.
The Israeli military declined to comment. (Reuters)
Iran's foreign ministry has said that Israel's "violation" of law by intruding inside the Golan buffer zone which is a United Nations patrolled region in the Golan Heights is “a flagrant violation of the United Nations charter”, Al Jazeera reported.
"We demand an immediate response from the UN Security Council to stop the aggression and hold the occupation regime accountable," said Esmail Baghaei, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson.
The UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) has said that close to one million people have been displaced inside Syria since the rebel forces up their offensive against the ousted President Bashar al-Assad.
The number put up by the UN agency includes 150,000 “experiencing secondary displacement”. It added that women and girls comprise of the close to one million figure reported.
"“The security situation in Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, Homs and Damascus remains dynamic. There are multiple overlapping population movements, including major internal displacement within Syria," the UNHCR said.
The Syrian rebels, who seized power from the ousted President Bashar al-Assad, have planned to name senior Assad regime officials who are wanted for torture, CNN reported.
The rebels will announce List no. 1 that includes names of the most senior officials involved in torturing the Syrian people, according to a statement from Military Operations Command led by HTS.
The Assad family, which ruled in Syria for over 50 years, have been accused of torture, mass incarceration, extra-judicial killings and atrocities of the Syrians.
Israeli warplanes have bombarded Syria, including the capital Damascus, a dozen of times since Syrian rebels seized power from ousted President Bashar al-Assad, BBC reported.
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), there were over 100 strikes by the Israeli forces on military targets in Syria.
As per Syria's local media reports, a research centre was targeted which allegedly had links to chemical weapon production.
The collapse of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime presents Israel with both potential threats and strategic opportunities. While there are fears of unrest spilling over into Israeli territory, the situation also offers a chance to counteract Iran’s weapons smuggling to Hezbollah via Syria.
Israeli forces have begun seizing control of a demilitarised buffer zone in Syria established as part of the 1974 ceasefire agreement. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the move as temporary, aimed at securing the border following the Syrian army’s retreat.
Visiting the Golan Heights on Sunday, he stated, “Because Syrian troops abandoned their positions, Israel’s move into the buffer zone was necessary as a temporary defensive position”, according to news agency AP.
The United Nations, however, has raised concerns. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, “Peacekeepers at UNDOF informed Israeli counterparts that these actions would constitute a violation of the 1974 disengagement agreement”, AP reported.
US President Joe Biden is seeking ways to engage with the Syrian rebel groups who ousted President Bashar al-Assad and is reaching out to partners in the region with the likes of Turkey to initiate an informal diplomacy.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, during a press briefing, said that Washington had its own ways of communicating with various groups.
"We have been engaging in those conversations over the past few days. Secretary himself has been engaged in conversations with countries that have influence inside Syria, and we'll continue to do that," Miller stated, according to Reuters.
Syria's Ambassador to the United Nations Koussay Aldahhak has said that he and his mission and all Syrian embassies abroad have received instructions to continue with their jobs during the transitional period.
Aldahhak made the comments outside of the UN Security Council where closed consultations were ongoing regarding the overthrow of the ousted President Bashar al-Assad’s regime by the Syrian rebels forces.
“We are with the Syrian people. We will keep defending and working for the Syrian people. So we will continue our work until further notice,” the ambassador said.
The rescue teams which went to search the infamous Sednaya prison discovered 15 bodies reportedly of civilians, claimed Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
The UK based human rights group said that it has documented 69 deaths of civilians in the prisons during the ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in 2024, reported Al Jazeera.
The report came as Syrians continue to search for their loved ones in the prisons after the rebels seized control of Syria from Assad.
The United Nations Security Council members will work on a statement on Syria in the coming days, U.S. and Russian diplomats said on Monday, after a closed-door meeting over the rebel seizure of the capital Damascus and ousting of President Bashar al-Assad.
"The council, I think, was more or less united on the need to preserve the territorial integrity and unity of Syria, to ensure the protection of civilians, to ensure that humanitarian aid is coming to the needy population," Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters after the 15-member body met.
Deputy U.S. Ambassador Robert Wood confirmed that most members spoke about those issues and told reporters the council would work on a statement. The United States is president of the council for December.
"This is an incredible moment for the Syrian people," Wood said. "Now we're really focused right now on trying to see where the situation goes. Can there be a governing authority in Syria that respects the rights and dignities of the Syrian population?"
Syria's U.N. Ambassador Koussay Aldahhak told reporters outside the council that his mission and all Syrian embassies abroad had received instructions to continue doing their job and maintain the state institution during the transition period.
(Reuters)
A Syrian civil defense group named White Helmets which launched an investigation into the infamous Saydnaya prison in order to search for possible prisoners being detained in any 'secret cells or basements', has ended and found no evidence of any secret cells.
In a statement on Monday, the group White Helmets said “The search did not uncover any unopened or hidden areas within the facility.”
Named as “human slaughterhouse” by Amnesty International, the White Helmet group deployed an emergency specialized team to search for the hidden cells or basements holding prisoners in the Saydnaya prison which has been a hub for caging activists and volunteers.
The United States prosecutors have accused two Syrian officials of managing and overseeing the operations of torture centre where peaceful protesters were abused, including a 26-year-old American woman who was detained it and allegedly executed later on.
The indictment by the US administration came to the fore on Monday, days after the Syrian rebels seized the country from ousted President Bashar al-Assad, who has been reportedly given asylum in Moscow.
The indictment by the US prosecutors named Jamil Hassan, director of the Syrian air force's intelligence branch, who is said to oversaw a prison and torture center at the Mezzeh air force base in Damascus, and Abdul Salam Mahmoud, who allegedly operated the prison.
The US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller informed the public on Monday that America has “taken steps to secure our embassy” building in Syria after rebel forces seized Damascus and ousted President Bashar al-Assad’s government from the country.
“We have taken steps to secure our embassy, and we believe that our embassy, which, of course, we’re not staffing at the time, but that our embassy is still secure,” Miller said at a press conference.
Notably, the United States had suspended its embassy’s operations in Damascus in 2012 and didn’t have any diplomatic relations with Assad's regime.
The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) has said that the presence of Israeli forces in the Syrian buffer zone is a direct violation of the 1974 Agreement on Disengagement with Syria.
On Sunday, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that he had ordered the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to seize control of the buffer zone, which actually separates the Golan Heights, which is occupied by Tel Aviv from the remaining part of Syria.
The UN Secretary General’s spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric confirmed that Israeli personnel are present in the buffer zone in at least three locations. He added “There should be no military forces or activities in the area of separation. Currently, the situation in the UNDOF area of operations is relatively calm,” as reported by CNN.
During a call with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, US President Joe Biden highlighted Jordan’s key role in maintaining stability and de-escalating tension in the Middle East region amid the rebels seizing control of Damascus and falling of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
“The President emphasized his full support for a Syrian-led transition process under the auspices of the United Nations as outlined in UN Security Council Resolution 2254,” the White House stated.
The two leaders also talked about the need to finalise a ceasefire and a hostage return deal between Israel and Gaza and increase the humanitarian aid in the region and agreed to remain in “regular contact directly and through their teams.”
After taking over the reigns of the country from ousted President Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian rebel forces have called upon Assad's security forces to register with them at a “settlement centre”.
“All Assad regime forces need to visit the center to complete settlement procedures and receive a temporary ID before Saturday Dec 14, 2024,” the rebels statement said as reported by CNN.
The armed rebel forces took down Assad's regime in a lightning advance in 11 days of offensive, which led to President Assad’s ouster and fleeing the country.
Israeli planes bombed at least three major Syrian army air bases that housed dozens of helicopters and jets in the biggest such wave of strikes on air bases since Bashar al Assad was toppled, two Syrian security sources said. Qamishli air base in north east Syria, Shinshar base in the countryside of Homs and Aqrba airport southwest of the capital Damascus were all hit, the sources said. It has also waged several strikes on a research centre on the outskirts of Damascus and a centre for electronic warfare near Sayeda Zainab area of the capital.
(Reuters)
Israel told the United Nations Security Council on Monday that it has taken "limited and temporary measures" in a demilitarized strip bordering Syria to counter any threats, particularly to residents of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. "It is important to emphasize, however, that Israel is not intervening in the ongoing conflict between Syrian armed groups; our actions are solely focused on safeguarding our security," Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon wrote in a letter to the 15-member council. He said Israel remained committed to the framework of a 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement.
(Reuters)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Assad's overthrow in Syria a major opportunity but warned of risks like ISIS rebuilding during the transition. He urged Syrians to decide their future and stressed the US priority to prevent Syria's fragmentation and the spread of terrorism and extremism.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Italy's government said it would pause asylum applications from Syria, a statement said, following similar moves from European neighbours after the fall of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. "The government decided, similarly to other European partners, to suspend proceedings on asylum applications from Syria," the statement said after a meeting between government chief Giorgia Meloni and some ministers on Syria.
(Reuters)
At least two explosions heard in Damascus took place in the area of Barzeh, near Damascus, where the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Centre has an office, three witnesses in the neighbourhood told Reuters. The SSRC has been sanctioned and previously struck for its links to chemical weapons production under toppled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel is using all the tools it has to ensure its security, post change in Syrian leadership.
(Reuters)
The UN refugee chief called for patience as millions of Syrian refugees displaced by the 13-year civil war weigh a possible return to the country after the toppling of autocratic president Bashar al-Assad. "There is a remarkable opportunity for Syria to move toward peace and for its people to begin returning home," said United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi in a statement sent to journalists. "But with the situation still uncertain, millions of refugees are carefully assessing how safe it is to do so. Some are eager, while others are hesitant."
He called for "patience and vigilance" as refugees weigh their options. Already European countries were putting asylum applications from Syrians on hold until further notice. The likelihood of returns is likely to depend on whether Syrian's new leaders prioritise law and order, he said. "A transition that respects the rights, lives, and aspirations of all Syrians – regardless of ethnicity, religion, or political beliefs – is crucial for people to feel safe." UNHCR stood ready to help states organise voluntary returns, Grandi added.
(Reuters)
US President Joe Biden spoke with Jordan's King Abdullah about the situation in Syria, Axios reported.
(Reuters)
The United States and Turkey have reached an agreement to ensure the safe withdrawal of US-backed Kurdish Syrian forces from the besieged town of Manbij, a Syrian opposition source said. The Kurdish group SDF "have withdrawn from the city, and still need to withdraw from the other areas" east of the city, said the Syrian opposition source familiar with the matter.
(Reuters)
Turkey announced the reopening of the Yayladagi border gate with Syria to facilitate the safe and voluntary return of Syrian migrants, President Tayyip Erdogan said. Erdogan emphasized managing migrant returns "in a way befitting our hosting" and easing border traffic. The Yayladagi crossing, closed since 2013 due to nearby fighting, is set to reopen as part of this effort.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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