Syria - live: US man Travis Timmerman found after months in Assad prison as rebels set to suspend constitution
American Travis Timmerman was found by Syrian rebels, as Israel continues its bombardment around much of the country
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Your support makes all the difference.An American who was detained in Syria for seven months has been freed, as Syrian rebels scour areas once controlled by Bashar al-Assad’s now-deposed regime.
Travis Timmerman, from Missouri, was found when trying to find his own way out of Syria after being freed from a prison by Syrian rebels.
He was initially mistaken by some on social media to be American journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared in Syria in 2012.
Mr Timmerman was detained when he entered Syria without permission for “spiritual purposes” seven months ago, he told CBS News. He was freed by two armed men with AK-47s on Monday after a stretch in prison which “wasn’t too bad”.
Meanwhile, the newly formed administration of Syria is planning to suspend the country’s constitution and parliament.
A source close to the Syrian government told Reuters news agency that a new committee of experts would make amendments to the constitution, but did not reveal what this might consist of.
It comes as the Turkish foreign minister, intelligence chief and Qatar’s head of state security are set to meet rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani and caretaker prime minister Mohammed al-Bashir in Damascus on Thursday.
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Travis Timmerman: American who travelled to Syria on Christian pilgrimage freed from Assad jail
An American who spent seven months in a Syrian prison after crossing into the country on foot on a Christian pilgrimage has been found.
Travis Timmerman, who was found in the town of Dhiyabiya, says he was one of thousands of people released from Syrian prisons after rebel groups ousted the brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad after a 13-year civil war on the weekend.
Speaking with CBS, Mr Timmerman revealed that he was freed by two men with AK-47s on Monday, after being detained when he entered Syria for “spiritual purposes”. He told Al-Arabiya TV network that he crossed into Syria on foot from the eastern Lebanese town of Zahle.
After being detained and spending seven months in prison, Timmerman’s “door was busted down”, he told CBS. “I thought the guards were still there, so I thought the warfare could have been more active than it ended up being.
Read the full report:
Travis Timmerman: US pilgrim discovered after months in Syrian jail
Travis Timmerman was initially mistaken by some for missing US journalist Austin Tice when he was found in Syria
Israeli incursion into Golan Heights buffer zone is logical, says US
Israel’s incursion into the Golan Heights buffer zone is logical and in keeping with its right to self defence, the US national secuity adviser Jake Sullivan said on Thursday.
Mr Sullivan, who met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, is visiting the Middle East to discuss the situation in Syria and a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
He told reporters that the US is in deep consultation with Israel over its actions in Syria, adding that the US expects Israel’s seizure of the buffer zone to be temporary.
Israel seized the buffer zone separating the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria proper on Sunday, hours after Bashar al-Assad’s regime was deposed by Syrian rebels.
Israel described reports that it had moved beyond the buffer zone as “false”, before later stating troops had been deployed beyond the buffer zone into Syria to create a “sterile defence zone”.
In pictures: Funeral of activist Mazen al-Hamada
The funeral of Syrian activist Mazen al-Hamada, whose dead body was found inside the notorious Sednaya prison after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, took place on Thursday.
Mr Hamada, who escaped Syria after months of torture and abuse - physical, mental and sexual - in Syrian prisons, sought Asylum in the Netherlands.
But upon returning to Syria in 2020, Mr Hamada disappeared. One going theory posed that Mr Hamad was lured back to Syria with the promise of other detainees being released if he did so.
A symbol of the brutality of Assad’s dictatorship, Mr Hamada is believed to have been executed days before his body was discovered on Monday.
Turkish and Qatari officials to meet rebel leaders in Damascus
Turkey’s foreign minister, intelligence chief, and Qatar’s head of state security will meet with Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani and caretaker prime minister Mohammed al-Bashir in Damascus, the Syrian information ministry said.
The Turkish foreign ministry has confirmed that minister Hakan Fidan is in Damascus.
It comes after Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin was revealed to be in Damascus by two sources speaking to Reuters.
Turklish media outlet Yeni Safak said Mr Kalin was at the Ummayyad Mosque in Damascus, where a Reuters reporter saw at least one car moving towards the mosque amid heavy security and large crowds.
It was not immediately clear who was in the car.
In pictures: American Travis Timmerman found in Syria
Syria’s new administration to suspend constitution
The newly formed administration in Syria will suspend the existing legislature and constitution after president Bashar al-Assad was topped, a source close to the government told Reuters on Thursday.
A committee of experts will be created to make amendments to the current constitution, the source indicated.
Report: Thousands queue to flee Syria as ethnic minorities fear post-Assad future
Thousands of Syrians are stranded on the Masnaa border crossing with Lebanon, looking to flee the country in fear for their futures after Islamist rebel groups ousted Bashar al-Assad’s brutal regime.
Minority groups in Syria, including Christians and Alawites, are among those concerned that the new Syria’s future may not be tolerant of their communities, many of whom opposed the revolution in 2011 and the subsequent 13-year civil war.
The Masnaa border point - the only operational crossing between Syria and Lebanon - has been inundated with huge queues of Syrians attempting to travel in both directions, with many hoping to return to a freed homeland after years of displacement in Lebanon.
Read the full report:
Thousands queue to flee Syria as ethnic minorities fear post-Assad future
Many from ethnic minorities are fleeing Syria after Bashar al-Assad’s brutal regime was deposed on the weeekend
Syria’s caretaker PM urges refugees to ‘come home’
Syria’s caretaker prime minister Mohammed al-Bashir has urged all Syrians who fled president Bashar al-Assad’s brutal dictatorship to return and help “rebuild” the Arab nation.
“My appeal goes out to all Syrians abroad: Syria is now a free country that has regained its pride and dignity. Come back,” he told Corriere della Sera.
“We need to rebuild, to get our country on its feet again, and we need everyone’s help.”
At least 7.4 million Syrians remained internally displaced and nearly 4.9 million were seeking refuge in neighbouring countries, the UN said in a 2024 report.
ICYMI: France urges Israel to withdraw from buffer zone
France has called on Israel to withdraw troops from the buffer zone between Israel and Syria which was captured by Benjamin Netanyahu’s forces swiftly after the fall of the Assad regime.
Mr Netanyahu said on Sunday he had ordered his ground forces to take control of the buffer zone established by a ceasefire agreement with Syria after armed rebel groups pushed out president Bashar al-Assad from Damascus and took power.
“Any military deployment in the separation zone between Israel and Syria is a violation of the disengagement agreement of 1974,” a French foreign ministry spokesperson said yesterday.
Israel’s move has been condemned by Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Russian security boss holds talks with China’s Xi Jinping
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and former president of Russia, held talks with Chinese president Xi Jinping on Thursday.
The pair discussed the crises in both Ukraine and Syria, according to the TASS state news agency.
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