Syria – live: Tomb of Assad’s father set on fire by rebels while Israel strikes Syrian military 480 times
Israel denies penetrating Syria beyond buffer zone in occupied Golan Heights
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Rebel fighters have set fire to the tomb of Syria‘s former president Hafez Assad in his hometown in the country’s northwest.
The insurgents posed with the flag of the revolution in the burnt-out mausoleum on Wednesday, as it was revealed Russian intelligence agents organised the swift escape of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad after convincing him he would lose to encroaching forces.
The fresh details were reported by Bloomberg , which revealed Russia offered Assad a safe exit if he left the country immediately.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed the toppling of Assad on a plan by the US, Israel and one of Syria’s neighbours that he did not name.
His intervention on Wednesday came as Israel said it launched more than 480 airstrikes against military facilities across Syria, destroying the Syrian navy and targeting weapons stockpiles and strategic infrastructure.
The Israeli military said they carried out the strikes over the last 48 hours, hitting weapons production sites in the cities of Damascus, Homs, Tartus, Latakia and Palmyra. The targets also included airfields, anti-aircraft batteries, drones, aircraft and tanks.
Russia has also criticised Israel’s occupation of the Golan Heights region in Syria’s south-west as prolonging instability, as the Kremlin said the safety of its military and diplomatic personnel in the country was paramount.
A US official has also said American troops will remain in Syria to take on Isis militants despite the ongoing crisis following the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad.
US troops “have been there now for the better part of a decade or more to fight Isis… we are still committed to that mission,” said US deputy national security adviser Jon Finer.
Who is Mohammed al-Bashir? Syria’s new interim PM who has connections to both Assad and the rebels
‘They tortured me when I asked to see him’: Wife of jailed Syrian reveals truth of Assad’s slaughterhouse jail
‘Every home has three or four missing. It is our nightmare’ – Syrians’ desperate search for loved ones
Footage shows secret underground tunnels used by Assad regime in Syria
Who is Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of the insurgency that toppled Syria’s Assad?
Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the militant leader whose stunning insurgency toppled Syria’s President Bashar Assad, has spent years working to remake his public image, renouncing longtime ties to al-Qaida and depicting himself as a champion of pluralism and tolerance.
In recent days, the insurgency even dropped his nom de guerre and began referring to him by his real name, Ahmad al-Sharaa.
The extent of that transformation from jihadi extremist to would-be state builder is now put to the test.
Read the full report:
Who is Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of the insurgency that toppled Assad?
Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the militant leader who led the stunning insurgency that toppled Syria’s President Bashar Assad, has spent years working to remake his public image and that of his fighters
Foreign countries have nothing to fear, rebel leader says
The leader of the rebel group which ousted Bashar al-Assad from Syria, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, has said foreign countries do not need to fear for Syria’s future.
"The country will be rebuilt," he told Sky News. "The fear was from the presence of the regime. The country is moving towards development and reconstruction. It’s going towards stability.
He added that their “fears are unnecessary, God willing".
Golani, who has reshaped his image from his jihadist past in order to bolster his legitimacy as a leader in the new Syria, said the country is “exhausted from war”.
He added: “So the country isn’t ready for another one and it’s not going to get into another one. The source of our fears was from the Iranian militias, Hezbollah and the regime which committed the massacres we are seeing today.
"So their removal is the solution for Syria. The current situation won’t allow for a return to panic."
Egypt calls for ‘comprehensive political process’
Egypt has called for a “comprehensive political process” in Syria to achieve the “ambition of the Syrian people”, the foreign ministry said.
It came shortly before Mohammed al-Bashir announced on Tuesday that he would take charge of the country as caretaker prime minister with the backing of the rebels.
"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.
‘I will hunt them down’: Grief turns to fury as Syrians search for loved ones tortured by Assad’s regime
Camping in the grounds of Syria’s most notorious “slaughterhouse” prison north of Damascus and scouring the halls of overflowing hospitals and morgues, desperate relatives search for Syria’s missing.
Clutching photos, identification cards, and screenshots of old images, families of those swallowed into the regime’s notorious jails and judicial system flock to anyone they think might shed light on the whereabouts of their loved ones.
More than half a century of brutal rule by the Assad regime, culminating in thirteen years of civil war, has been marked by mass arrests, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and executions resulting in tens of thousands missing.
The Independent’s chief international correspondent Bel Trew reports:
‘I will hunt them down’: Grief turns to fury for Syrians hunting tortured loved ones
As the brutality of the Assad regime falls away, Bel Trew finds families driven by desperation, grief and fury as they searched for their lost loved ones
Israel says it has destroyed Syrian naval fleet
Israeli naval missile ships destroyed the Syrian military fleet in an operation on Monday night as part of a broad campaign to eliminate strategic threats to Israel, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday, during a visit to a naval base in Haifa.
In a statement he said Israeli forces were establishing themselves in the buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and said he had ordered a "sterile defensive zone" to be created in southern Syria, without a permanent Israeli presence, to prevent any terrorist threat to Israel
Watch: Inside Syrian President Bashar al Assad’s trashed private residence
Rebel-backed Mohammed al-Bashir takes charge as Syria's interim prime minister
Syria's new interim leader announced on Tuesday he was taking charge of the country as caretaker prime minister with the backing of the former rebels who toppled President Bashar al-Assad three days ago.
In a brief address on state television, Mohammed al-Bashir, a figure little known across most of Syria who previously ran an administration in a small pocket of the northwest controlled by rebels, said he would lead the interim authority until March 1.
"Today we held a cabinet meeting that included a team from the Salvation government that was working in Idlib and its vicinity, and the government of the ousted regime," he said.
"The meeting was under the headline of transferring the files and institutions to caretake the government."
Behind him were two flags: the green, black and white flag flown by opponents of Assad throughout the civil war, and a white flag with the Islamic oath of faith in black writing, typically flown in Syria by Sunni Islamist fighters.
Comment | After the fall of Assad in Syria, what is the threat to Europe from Isis?
Four hundred years ago, Sir John Harington explained, “Treason doth never prosper. What’s the reason? If treason prosper, none dare call it treason.” Maybe, terrorism is never successful – as Western governments insist – for much the same reason.
The rebranding of Syria’s new strongman, Abu Mohammad al Jolani, from internationally outlawed terrorist to international partner, is well underway.
On Sunday, Sir John Sawers – Tony Blair’s guru in the run-up to the Iraq War, as well as MI6’s boss – led the choir of Whitehall’s most far-sighted mandarins singing the praises of Al Jolani as “the leader of a liberation movement, not a terrorist organisation”; and calling for his HTS group’s designation as a terrorist group to be reviewed.
Mark Almond writes:
After the fall of Assad in Syria, what is the threat to Europe from Isis?
What about Syria’s tens of thousands of jihadis who see its stunning victory over Assad as proof that their cause and methods are just what is needed to liberate the Middle East, even the wider world, asks Mark Almond
Iran has not been weakened, Tehran says
The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the Islamic Republic has not been weakened after the fall of ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria, according to Iranian media.
“We have not been weakened and Iran’s power has not diminished,” Hossein Salami told members of parliament in a closed session.
Iran was one of the powers propping up Assad’s rule after a civil war sparked in 2011. Tehran’s Revolutionary Guards were sent to Syria to help Assad secure his dictatorship and allow Iran to maintain its ‘Axis of Resistance’.
Assad’s exit has come as a blow to Tehran as it seeks to sustain a network of militias across the region.
In Depth | The Assads’ next chapter: A ‘desert rose’ wife and a life of luxury
They sought to project an image of benevolent leadership and modernity: the “ordinary” family that, under the rule of Bashar al-Assad, would reform Syria. They were polished, relatable, apparently – first lady Asma, the philanthropic, elegant “rose of the desert” (as Vogue described her), alongside her president husband, a London-based doctor and once self-proclaimed “geek”.
The next generation of Assads were not the face of his father’s brutal regime, they insisted, and some in the West were convinced. That glossy image would befall one of the most brutal and bloody dictatorships in modern history.
Zoë Beaty writes
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments