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
Palestinian factions in Syria set to meet new leaders
Syria-based Palestinian factions have formed a unified delegation to meet the country’s new rebel-led authorities.
The factions said after a meeting at the Palestinian embassy that they stood by the side of the Syrian people.
They condemned Israel’s air strikes on Syria over the past few days that have destroyed much of the assets of the Syrian army.
The factions decided to form a joint committee to run the affairs of Palestinians in Syria as well as to be in contact with the new insurgent-led transitional government, following the ousting of president Bashar Assad.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians live in Syria, many of them refugees, and the factions that have been based in Damascus were close to Assad’s government. Hamas was based in Syria until it left in 2012, a year after the county’s civil war began.
Israeli military video said to show strikes on Syria 'weapons stockpiles'
Syria’s former ruling party led by Assad suspends activities
Syria’s Baath Party said it is suspending its work and activities until further notice as it deposed ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad.
All work and activity “will be suspended in all its forms until further notice,” a statement said on the party’s website.
The former ruling party, which has been led by the Assad family for decades, said that all its property, funds and weapons would be handed to police and law enforcement authorities.
“All the party’s property and funds will be placed under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice, and its proceeds are to be deposited in the Central Syrian Bank.”
How Putin’s intelligence agents convinced Assad to flee Syria
Russian intelligence agents persuaded Bashar al-Assad to flee Syria with Moscow having become convinced that he would lose against the insurgents rapidly advancing on Damascus, sources have said.
Moscow offered Mr Assad a safe exit if he left the country immediately as the rebel forces led by former al-Qaeda offshoot Hayat Tahir al-Sham (HTS) approached, leading to the toppling of 50 years of rule by the Assad family.
According to a report by Bloomberg, citing three people with knowledge of the situation, Russian agents flew Mr Assad out via a Russian airbase in Syria, with the aircraft’s transponder turned off to avoid being tracked.
Angus Thompson reports:
How Putin’s intelligence agents convinced Assad to flee Syria
Fresh details have emerged of the ousted Syrian dictactor’s escape with the help of the Kremlin
In Focus | History tells us dictators who build the biggest bunkers have the most fragile minds
We have seen these scenes before, of course. As soon as the dictator has fled, his properties are stormed, revealing more wealth than his benighted people could have ever expected. The images and video coming out of Damascus over the past few days are therefore unexceptional – there are the requisite rows of incredibly expensive cars; the predictably naff and soulless marble palace; the textbook lurid and ghastly furniture. You can imagine Loyd Grossman taking us through the keyhole to ask “Who would live in a palace like this?”
The wealth of evil men such as Bashar al-Assad is always stolen from the people they claim to protect, but these images of dictator kitsch provide light relief from the other terrible scenes that always accompany a toppling – the horrors of the prisons and torture chambers.
History tells us dictators who build the biggest bunkers have the most fragile minds
As Bashar al-Assad’s hiding place is revealed, Guy Walters examines the hideouts of some of the leaders of the most oppressive regimes in history, from Hitler to Mussolini, and concludes that these lairs serve as prisons to deeply disturbed and paranoid minds
Ukraine ‘gave rebels drones’
Syrian fighters received about 150 drones and other covert support from Ukrainian intelligence operatives last month, weeks ahead of the rebels’ advance that toppled Bashar al-Assad over the weekend, according to The Washington Post.
The paper said Ukrainian intelligence sent about 20 drone operators and about 150 first-person-view drones about four to five weeks ago to aid Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Russia’s foreign ministry had earlier said the rebels had received drones from Ukraine and training in how to operate them, an accusation that Ukraine’s foreign ministry at the time said it categorically rejected.
Kurds in Syria face an uncertain future
The jihadi rebels who toppled Syrian President Bashar Assad say they want to build a unified, inclusive country. But after 14 years of civil war, putting that ideal into practice will not be easy. For Syria‘s Kurdish minority - America’s closest ally in the country - the struggle for a new order is entering a potentially even more challenging phase.
Over the course of Syria‘s civil war, Kurdish fighters have fended off an array of armed factions, partnered with the US to rout the Islamic State group and carved out a largely autonomous region in the country’s oil-rich east. But the gains of the non-Arab Kurds are now at risk. The ascendance of the Sunni Arab rebels who overthrew Assad — with vital help from Turkey, a longtime foe of the Kurds — will make it hard for the Kurds to find a place in the new Syria and could prolong the conflict.
The jihadi rebels who rode into Damascus over the weekend have made peaceful overtures to the Kurds. But the rebels violently drove Kurdish fighters out of the eastern city of Deir al-Zour days after government forces abandoned it. To the north, a separate opposition faction backed by Turkey that has been battling the Kurds for years seized the town of Manbij. And Turkey carried out airstrikes on a Kurdish convoy it said was carrying heavy weapons looted from government arsenals. The Kurds have long counted on US aid in the face of such challenges.
Around 900 American troops are in eastern Syria, where they partner with Kurdish forces to prevent an Islamic State resurgence.
But the future of that mission will be thrown into doubt under president-elect Donald Trump, who has long been skeptical about US involvement in Syria.
Safeguarding Russian bases and diplomats in Syria paramount: Kremlin
The Kremlin says ensuring the security of Russia’s military bases and diplomatic missions in Syria is of paramount importance.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was maintaining contacts with those in charge in Syria and that it was hopeful stability would be achieved.
Russia, whose airforce carried out strikes against advancing Syrian rebels earlier this month, before Bashar al-Assad’s regime was toppled, has a key air base in Latakia province and a naval facility at Tartous, its only Mediterranean repair and replenishment.
The Kremlin also took aim at Israel’s strikes against the Golan Heights region, in the border area abbutting Israel and Lebanon, after Israeli forces moved into the territory to prevent militant groups from occupying regions along the border which could be used to launch offensives into its territory.
Russia said Israel’s actions on the front were unlikely to contribute to Syria’s stabilisation.
Who is Mohammed al-Bashir? Syria’s new interim PM who has connections to both Assad and the rebels
After more than half a century of the Assad family ruling over Syria, a little-known local politician has been named as the country’s interim leader and tasked with ushering in a stable government.
Three days on from rebels completing a sweeping offensive forcing Bashar Al-Assad, who succeeded his father as ruler, out of Syria and out of office, the country is looking to ensure a peaceful transition of power.
Mohammed al-Bashir, a politician who has been governing the rebel-controlled province of Idlib in northwest Syria, from which the offensive began, from January this year, has been made responsible for that transition.
In a brief address on state television on Tuesday, he announced that representatives of the rebels and the ousted government had agreed for him to act as caretaker until 1 March.
Tom Watling reports:
Who is Mohammed al-Bashir? Syria’s new interim PM tasked with ensuring peace
Mohammed al-Bashir, a politician in his 40s from the northwest Syrian province of Idlib, has agreed to become caretaker prime minister until March next year
Rights group says Syrian refugees should not be forcefully sent back
As debate swirls over what to do with millions of displaced Syrian refugees seeking asylum in Western nations, Human Rights Watch said earlier today no government should send Syrian refugees back forcefully.
The statement comes after several European nations, including the UK and Germany, this week announced plans to pause asylum applications for Syrian citizens.
“Every citizen has the right to return to their home country, safe or not. But because one refugee chooses to repatriate is no justification to forcibly return another who remains fearful, as many Syrian refugees do, especially given the country’s unstable and possibly dangerous conditions,” the group said.
“This approach carries real risks, especially given how keen some European states are to declare Syria safe and begin returns,” it said, adding that Syria remains “inherently volatile”.
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