Syria latest news: Thousands celebrate fall of Assad amid fears chemical weapons could fall into wrong hands
Fears are growing that terrorist groups may get hold of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile
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Your support makes all the difference.Thousands across Syria have taken to the streets to celebrate the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s brutal regime and the end to a catastrophic civil war.
The rallies will see thousands marking an end to 53 years of authoritarian rule under the Assad family since 1971, when Hafez al-Assad became president under the Ba’ath Party following the 1970 Coup.
Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammad al-Golani has urged the public not to fire shots during celebrations after a man reportedly lost control of his machine gun and accidentally fire on bystanders during celebrations in Raqqa on Thursday.
“I invite them to take to the streets to express their joy without firing bullets and scaring people. After that, let’s build the country,” Mr Golani said in a video address, according to CNN.
It comes amid fears that Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile will be smuggled out of the country. Hamish de Bretton Gordon, the former head of the British Army's chemical weapons unit, told Sky News: "We know ISIS and al Qaeda know all about chemical weapons and would like to get hold them, so that is a real concern.”
It is “not ideal” for Israel to be bombing Assad’s chemical weapons sites, Mr Gordon added.
Israeli forces seize buffer zone along occupied Golan Heights after Assad’s downfall
I asked Republicans about Tulsi Gabbard’s remarks on Syria. This is what they said
These Syrians watched their town be destroyed in war as Assad kept them away. Now they are vowing to rebuild
Syria doesn’t have to become a jihadi hellhole
I sparked Syria’s revolution as a teenage boy – now I’m here to finish it
Muawiyah Syasneh was 16 when his anti-Assad graffiti on a school wall led to his arrest, sparking protests that ended in civil war. Now, in the very same spot, he tells chief international correspondent Bel Trew about the years-long war – and his role in bringing it to an end
I sparked Syria’s revolution as a teenage boy – now I’m here to finish it
Muawiyah Syasneh was 16 when his anti-Assad graffiti on a school wall led to his arrest, sparking protests that ended in civil war. Now, in the very same spot, he tells chief international correspondent Bel Trew about the years-long war – and his role in bringing it to an end
1.1 million Syrians displaced since Assad’s ouster, says UN
More than one million Syrians, mostly women and children, have been newly displaced in the embattled nation since armed rebels wrested power from president Bashar al-Assad and forced the brutal ruler to flee.
“As of 12 December, 1.1 million people have been newly displaced across the country since the start of the escalation of hostilities on 27 November. The majority are women and children,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said.
The humanitarian group said more than 400,000 people were staying in 240 collective shelters across northeastern areas of the country.
Turkey-backed forces continue advances in northern Syria
Turkey-backed rebel forces are continuing their advances in northern Syria with an aim to “clear terrorism”, a Turkish defence ministry source said on Thursday.
The rebel forces are fighting a US-backed Kurdish militia in the region. Turkey has repeatedly told the US that “a terrorist organisation cannot be eliminated by using another terrorist organisation”, the source added.
The US is backing the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in its fight against Islamic State. The SDF is led by a Kurdish militia regarded by Ankara as a terrorist group.
UN chief calls on Israel to withdraw from buffer zone
UN chief Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply concerned by the recent and extensive violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
The UN in a statement said the Israeli forces have not only moved into parts of the separation zone but also conducted a “defensive” air campaign.
Israel has captured the buffer zone on the border of Israel and Syria near Golan Heights and has launched hundreds of missiles inside Syria targeting weapons stockpiles, military facilities and airfields.
It has also bombed naval vessels off the Syrian coast.
“The secretary-general is particularly concerned over the hundreds of Israeli airstrikes on several locations in Syria,” the UN statement said, calling for urgent de-escalation “on all fronts, throughout Syria”.
Mr Guterres added it was “imperative to support credible, orderly and inclusive transitional arrangements in Syria”.
Syrian military officer charged with several counts of torture
A court in the US has charged a former Syrian military official with several counts of torture for overseeing a prison where alleged human rights abuses took place.
He was arrested in July for visa fraud charges.Samir Ousman al-Sheikh, who oversaw Syria’s infamous Adra Prison from 2005 to 2008 under recently ousted president Bashar al-Assad, was charged by a federal grand jury with several counts of torture and conspiracy to commit torture.
“It’s a huge step toward justice,” said Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the US-based Syrian Emergency Task Force.
“Samir Ousman al-Sheikh’s trial will reiterate that the United States will not allow war criminals to come and live in the United States without accountability, even if their victims were not US citizens.”
Bel Trew | ‘They used us as a testing ground for all kinds of weapons’: Syrians return to destroyed town
For miles, the bleached ribcages of bombed-out buildings on either side of the main highway north of Damascus flick past as you drive – a grim monument to some of the fiercest battles that took place between Bashar al-Assad’s forces and rebels at the start of the revolution more than a decade ago.
None of the residents of Jobar – once a revolutionary heartland – were able to return to or rebuild their homes as Syria’s civil war rolled on, even after the regime retook control.
Now, after Assad’s stunning defeat, families, some of whom returned from fleeing the country, pick through the dust-choked rubble of what was once their homes. They gather at Jobar’s chewed-up central graveyard to host the first funeral here in 13 years.
Our chief international correspondent Bel Trew reports:
‘They used us as a testing ground for weapons’: Syrians return to destroyed town
Bel Trew visits Jobar – north of Damascus – which was devastated by some of the fiercest battles of the civil war. She meets residents returning home for the first time in more than a decade. Both they, and Syria itself, face major challenges in starting anew
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.
We will not pardon Assad’s torturers, rebel commander says
Syrian rebel commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani, who fronted the group responsible for the collapse of the Assad regime, has vowed not to pardon the former dictator’s henchmen.
On Wednesday afternoon, Syria’s state broadcaster posted the commander’s comments.
“We will not pardon those who were involved in the torture and liquidation of detainees and were the cause of this,” the leader of Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) said.
“We will pursue them in our country, and we demand that countries hand over to us those of these criminals who fled to them in order to achieve justice against them.”
Watch: Tomb of Bashar al-Assad's father engulfed in flames as rebels set fire to mausoleum
Syrian rebels set fire to the tomb of Bashar al-Assad’s father in his family’s hometown in Al-Qardahah, near Latakia.
Eyewitness video released on Wednesday, 11 December, showed men gathering around flames inside the mausoleum of Hafez al-Assad.
The date of the footage could not be independently verified, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that gunmen set fire to the tomb on Tuesday.
Hafez Al-Assad took office on March 14 1971, seizing power in a bloodless coup in which Dr Noureddin Al-Atassi was overthrown.
His son Bashar was ousted over the weekend and fled to Russia where he was given political asylum.
The family ruled Syria for more than 50 years with a brutal regime.
Tomb of Bashar al-Assad’s father engulfed in flames as rebels set fire to mausoleum
Syrian rebels set fire to the tomb of Bashar al-Assad’s father in his family’s hometown in Al-Qardahah, near Latakia. Eyewitness video released on Wednesday, 11 December, showed men gathering around flames inside the mausoleum of Hafez al-Assad. The date of the footage could not be independently verified, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that gunmen set fire to the tomb on Tuesday. Hafez Al-Assad took office on March 14 1971, seizing power in a bloodless coup in which Dr Noureddin Al-Atassi was overthrown. His son Bashar was ousted over the weekend and fled to Russia where he was given political asylum. The family ruled Syria for more than 50 years with a brutal regime.
Israel continues bombarding Syria - war monitor
Israel has continued its bombardment of Syria as the country looks to build a post-Assad future.
UK-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Wednesday: “Israeli warplanes continue to destroy what remains of Syria’s military arsenal for the fourth consecutive day since the fall of the former regime.”
Over 352 air strikes have been carried out in 13 Syrian provinces, the monitor said. They have been focussed on “warehouses, aircraft, radar systems and military signal stations, scientific research centres and weapons and ammunitions warehouses in different positions across Syria”.
Israel says it is targeting military infrastructure to guarantee its own security.
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