Ahram Online provides the latest updates on the rapidly evolving situation in Syria following the fall of Damascus and the collapse of Bashar Al-Assad's government, as events unfold on Tuesday, 10 December.
22:30 Hezbollah on Tuesday expressed hope that neighbouring Syria's new rulers would reject the "Israeli occupation" of their land, days after the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad.
"We hope to see Syria stabilise... and take a firm stand against Israeli occupation, while preventing foreign interference in its affairs," the group said in a statement.
21:50 US troops are staying in Syria because they have an important mission to complete there, US Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer said in an interview at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York on Tuesday.
He said the Biden administration is in contact with members of the incoming team of President-elect Donald Trump and keeping them apprised.
21:15 The Israeli military has said it conducted about 480 strikes over the past 48 hours on strategic military targets in Syria.
"Within the last 48 hours, the IDF (army) struck most of the strategic weapons stockpiles in Syria, preventing them from falling into the hands of terrorist elements," the military said in a statement, adding that the targets included 15 naval vessels, anti-aircraft batteries and weapons production sites in several cities.
20:00 The United Nations is against any violation of the territorial integrity of Syria, a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday when asked about strikes by Israel on its neighbour.
“We’re against these types of attacks. I think this is a turning point for Syria. It should not be used by its neighbors to encroach on the territory of Syria,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters.
19:15 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the new rulers in Syria not to follow in the footsteps of the previous regime of president Bashar al-Assad and allow Iran to "re-establish" itself in the country.
"If this regime allows Iran to re-establish itself in Syria, or permits the transfer of Iranian weapons or any other weapons to Hezbollah, or if it attacks us -- we will respond forcefully, and we will exact a heavy price," Netanyahu said in a video statement from Tel Aviv. "What happened to the previous regime will happen to this one."
19: 00 There are legitimate concerns about the risks of sectarian violence in Syria and a resurgence of extremism in the country, said the European Union’s new foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
18: 45 US officials are in close touch with both Syrian opposition groups and Israeli officials as the situation develops, White House spokesperson John Kirby said on Tuesday.
Kirby said President Joe Biden was staying fully briefed by his national security team and his US national security adviser Jake Sullivan was travelling to Israel on Wednesday. He said the US was not involved in any Israeli operations in Syria, and Israel had made clear these were “temporary measures to ensure their own security.”
The United States wanted to ensure that the Syrian people were able to determine their future and that there was a Syrian-led evolution toward “better and more representative governance,” Kirby added.
18:15 The announcement by rebels who ousted Syria's president Bashar al-Assad that they had appointed a transitional head of government brings "new hope", the World Health Organization said Tuesday.
"The appointment in the last few hours of transitional government in the Syrian Arab Republic is bringing new hope to a country that has suffered so much," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva.
18:00 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday urged all nations to support an "inclusive" political process in Syria, saying the United States would eventually recognise a government if it meets such standards.
"The Syrian people will decide the future of Syria. All nations should pledge to support an inclusive and transparent process and refrain from external interference," Blinken said in a statement.
16:20 Egypt called on Tuesday for Syria to allow a full political process to take place in Syria after former president Bashar al-Assad was ousted by rebel forces, the foreign ministry said.
“Egypt reaffirms its keenness to communicate with brothers in Syria and exert all efforts to ensure the success of a comprehensive political process that achieves the ambition of the Syrian people,” a foreign ministry statement read.
15:47 Syria’s insurgents' command has ordered its fighters to withdraw from cities and ordered the deployment of police units and internal security forces affiliated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the dominant faction in the rebel alliance, two sources told Reuters.
14:53 Mohammed Al-Bashir has been named caretaker prime minister of Syria's transitional government until 1 March, 2025, he announced in a televised statement.
Al-Bashir, who leads the Idlib-based Syrian Salvation Government, has close ties to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group that spearheaded the takeover of Damascus.
14:38 Spain will keep processing asylum requests from Syrian nationals as usual, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Tuesday.
Some European countries, including Germany, Swizerland and France, have suspended the processing of applications by Syrians, but Albares said there was no need to change the approach for now since the number of applications received by Spain was smaller, comparatively.
13:13 Tehran said it had brought home 4,000 Iranian citizens from Syria following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad.
"Over the past three days, 4,000 Iranian citizens were returned to Iran," Fatemeh Mohajerani, a spokeswoman for Iran's government, said at a press conference.
She added that Iran would keep up its efforts "until the departure of the last Iranian" in Syria.
Around 10,000 Iranian citizens had been living in Syria in recent years, according to official figures.
13:12 Qatar condemned Israel's incrusions into Syria, calling it unacceptable for Israel to exploit the current situation in the country and violate its sovereignty.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari emphasized Qatar’s strong condemnation of Israel's incursions along the Syrian border, warning that “This will lead the region into more problems.”
He called on the international community to take urgent action to ensure Israel's adherence to international law, stressing, "We have international conventions, we have sovereignty, and the unity of Syrian territories" and these actions represent “violations committed by Israel against the territories of Syria.”
“No one is allowed, under any circumstances, including the Israeli occupation, to seize opportunities to occupy Syrian territories,” Al-Ansari added.
12:56 Hundreds of Syrian refugees gathered at two border crossings in southern Turkey, anticipating their return home.
Many arrived at the Cilvegozu and Oncupinar gates at daybreak, draped in blankets and coats. Some camped by the barriers. The crossings correspond to the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salameh gates on the Syrian side.
Turkey hosts nearly 3 million Syrian refugees, but Turkish officials have not said how many Syrians have returned since Assad’s downfall on Sunday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced plans to reopen a third border crossing to prevent congestion.
Hundreds of displaced Syrians were also returning Monday from Lebanon.
12:34 Turkey has “strongly” condemned Israel’s "occupying mentality" after its forces entered a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the occupied Golan Heights into Syrian territory, in violation of a 1974 agreement on a buffer zone inside Syria.
“We strongly condemn Israel’s violation of the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement, its entry into the separation zone between Israel and Syria, and its advance into Syrian territory,” Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said accused Israel is “displaying a mentality of an occupier” at a time when the possibility of peace and stability had emerged in Syria.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a telephone conversation with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and discussed the latest developments in Syria. According to the presidency, Erdogan insisted that "Turkey defends the preservation of Syria's territorial integrity and stability, and that Turkey will continue to do its best to build a whole Syria cleared of terrorism."
The statement reiterated Turkey’s support to Syria’s “sovereignty, political unity, and territorial integrity.”
11:51 The UN special envoy for Syria on Tuesday called on Israel to halt its military movements and bombardments inside Syria.
"We are continuing to see Israeli movements and bombardments into Syrian territory. This needs to stop. This is extremely important," Geir Pedersen told reporters in Geneva.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other armed groups that have swept Syrian regime from power have sent "good messages" to Syrians, Pedersen said.
But "what we need not to see is of course that the good statements and what we are seeing on the ground at the beginning, that this is not followed up in practice in the days and the weeks ahead of us".
Pedersen, a Norwegian diplomat who took over as UN envoy for Syria in 2018, said "the most important test will be how the transitional arrangements in Damascus is organised and implemented".
"These arrangement, as I have emphasised many times, needs to be inclusive."
However he acknowledges that that a Security Council resolution still counts the leading armed group as a terrorist one.
The HTS grew out of an al-Qaida-affiliated called the Nusra Front that the Security Council listed as a terror group in a 2015 resolution.
“This is obviously a complicating factor for all of us,” Pedersen said. “But we also have to be honest, we have to look at the facts and to see what has happened during the last nine years.”
11:00 Iran's UN envoy expressed grave concern over recent attacks on Iranian diplomatic premises in Syria, which violate the Vienna Convention's guarantees of inviolability and safety.
10:49 Austria’s chancellor Karl Nehammer has posted to social media to say that his country would assist those who wanted to return to Syria, saying “The fall of the Assad regime is changing the overall situation in Syria. The country now needs its citizens. We will support everyone who wants to return to their homeland.”
Yesterday Austria was one of the first countries in Europe to say it was suspending the processing of asylum claims from Syrians.
In the UK, a Home Office minister has said the country has “suspended” asylum application processing for Syrians until “until we can see what emerges from the current situation.”
Speaking to the media this morning, PA Media reports Angela Eagle said “We have suspended our consideration of the current asylum claims – about 6,500 – until we can see what emerges from the current situation.”
“If people wish to go home, we’d certainly like to facilitate that, but I think it’s too early to say what will emerge from the events that have happened in the last few days,” Eagle said.
Eagle also said that security services were on alert for British citizens returning from Syria who may have been part of armed militant groups there.
10:34 Israel struck an air defence facility and damaged Syrian naval ships as well as military warehouses, near the port city of Latakia, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The Observatory, which relies on a network of sources around Syria, said Israeli strikes had "destroyed the most important military sites in Syria".
A Syrian naval ship, destroyed in an overnight Israeli attack, is pictured in the port city of Latakia. AFP
10:31 Israel denied reports that its tanks have reached Qatana, which is 10km (six miles) into Syrian territory, east of the demilitarised zone separating the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria, and on the approach to Damascus, according to The Guardian.
However, Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency Sanad reported that Israeli forces penetrated strategic areas in the Quneitra governorate in southern Syria.
Reuters, citing Syrian security sources, as well as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Israeli troops had nearly reached Qatana.
Qatana is about 25 km (16 miles) southwest of Syria’s capital.
Israeli army vehicles drive after crossing the fence to the buffer zone with Syria, in the Israel-occupied Golan Heights. AFP
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel for almost 60 years, will remain part of Israel “for eternity”.
Netanyahu said control of the high ground “ensures our security and sovereignty” after he had ordered troops to move into a UN-patrolled buffer zone separating Israeli-occupied territory from Syria.
10:27 An Israeli military official told AP that troops plan to seize a buffer zone inside Syria as well as “a few more points that have strategic meaning.”
Israel has a long history of seizing territory during wars with Arab countries and occupying it indefinitely,
10:00 Saudi Arabia condemned Israel’s incursion into Syria and a wave of Israeli airstrikes launched on the country.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “the assaults carried out by the Israeli occupation government, including the seizure of the buffer zone in the Golan Heights, and the targeting of Syrian territory confirm Israel’s continued violation of the principles of international law and its determination to sabotage Syria’s chances of restoring its security, stability and territorial integrity.”
09:40 The Syrian Civil Defense has ended its search for possible remaining detainees at the infamous Sednaya prison, adding that it had not uncovered any “evidence of undiscovered secret cells or basements.”
In a statement, the group also known as the White Helmets said “Specialized teams from The White Helmets conducted a thorough search of all sections, facilities, basements, courtyards, and surrounding areas of the prison.
These operations were carried out with the assistance of individuals familiar with the prison and its layout. However, no evidence of undiscovered secret cells or basements was found”.
The teams inspected all entrances, exits, ventilation shafts, sewage systems, water pipes, electrical wiring, and surveillance camera cables.
Despite these extensive efforts, no hidden or sealed areas were identified, it added.
The group said it “shared the profound disappointment of the families of the thousands who remain missing and whose fates remain unknown” while urging social media users to be mindful of the widespread misinformation and rumours circulating about prisons and detainees.
This picture shows empty sells at Sednaya prison in Damascus. AFP
09:35 A monitor of Syria's war said it had recorded more than 300 Israeli strikes since rebels toppled the country's longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad over the weekend.
"The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has been able to document around 310 strikes" carried out by "Israeli warplanes" since the announcement of the fall of Assad on Sunday morning, the monitor said.
The strikes struck airports and warehouses, aircraft squadrons, radars, military signal stations, and multiple weapons and ammunition depots over the last 48 hours, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory said in a statement.
AFP journalists heard loud explosions in Damascus earlier today.
09:30 Reuters and a Syrian opposition war monitor said that Israel’s ground invasion into Syria has now reached about 25km (15 miles) southwest of Damascus.
Israel now reaches the town of Qatana, a Syrian security source told Reuters.
The move places Israeli troops 10 km into Syrian territory, east of the demilitarized zone separating the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria.
There was no immediate comment from the insurgent groups — led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS – that have taken control of Damascus.
Reporting for Al Jazeera from Damascus, Resul Serdar Atas writes that “the repeated Israeli attacks in and around Damascus and other regions create a huge challenge for the opposition in Syria to preserve the state apparatus and secure a smooth transition.”
Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles line near the village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. AF{P
09:00 Since 27 November, between 800,000 and one million people have been displaced from many areas across Syria, the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) said.
This figure includes over 150,000 people experiencing secondary displacement.
"Women and girls comprise nearly 50 per cent of those forced to flee their homes," the UNHCR added in it's report.
In parallel, there are indications that some internally displaced people (IDPs) are returning to areas of origin, including Aleppo.
"There is a remarkable opportunity for Syria to move toward peace and for its people to begin returning home. But the situation is still uncertain," the UN Refugee Agency said.
Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries are among those who are celebrating. "However, Syrian refugees remain cautious, concerned as to how the situation will develop and what the future will hold."
Source: UNHCR
It further explained that with shattered infrastructure and 90% of the population relying on humanitarian aid, urgent assistance is required.
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