Syria – live: US troops to stay in Syria as Israel launches more than 350 strikes against military assets
Israel denies penetrating Syria beyond buffer zone in occupied Golan Heights
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Your support makes all the difference.Israel says it has launched more than 350 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.
The update from Israel came as a US official 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.
Meanwhile, 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 – has been appointed interim prime minister. In a brief address on state television, he said he would lead Syria’s interim authority until 1 March, with the backing of the rebel coalition that toppled president Bashar al-Assad three days ago.
Who is Mohammed al-Bashir? Syria’s new interim PM who has connections to both Assad and the rebels
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Footage shows secret underground tunnels used by Assad regime in Syria
Syrian rebel leader promises stability despite concerns of further violence
Syrian rebel leader promises stability despite concerns of further violence
Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed al Jolani says Western fears about future instability are unnecessary
Israel’s warplanes pound Syria as it destroys Assad’s naval fleet
Israel’s warplanes pound Syria as it destroys Assad’s naval fleet
After the fall of the Assad regime, the Israeli military has taken control of a UN-controlled buffer zone in the Golan Heights and hit targets across the country
US troops to stay in Syria despite Assad’s exit
American troops will remain in Syria despite the ouster of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad as part of a counter-terrorism mission focused on destroying Isis militants, a White House official said.
“Those troops are there for a very specific and important reason, not as some sort of bargaining chip,” US deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said.
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”.
Syrian rebels take Deir Ezzor from Kurdish forces
Syrian armed rebels say they have wrested control of the eastern city of Deir Ezzor following intense battle with the US-backed Kurdish alliance.
“We announce the city of Deir Ezzor and its military airport as completely liberated,” senior commander Hassan Abdul Ghani said.
A member of the Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham said in a recorded video that the group will soon conduct a thorough sweep of the city’s neighbourhoods to secure the area.
“We will advance toward Raqqa and Hasakah and other areas in eastern Syria,” the fighters said.
Netanyahu makes it clear: Biden is no longer in charge
Netanyahu has made it clear: Biden’s no longer in charge
US-Israel policy appears to now be fully running through Mar-a-Lago after shocking developments in the Golan Heights, writes John Bowden
Qatar and Turkey join Egypt in condemning Israel’s land grab in buffer zone
Qatar, Turkey and Egypt have now all accused Israel of exploiting the crisis in Syria to seize positions in a demilitarised buffer zone between the two countries following the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he had ordered his ground forces to take control of the buffer zone, established by a 1947 ceasefire agreement with Syria, after armed rebel groups pushed out Mr Assad from Damascus and took power.
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari told reporters in Doha that it was unacceptable for Israel to “exploit” the current situation in Syria and violate its sovereignty.
Turkey’s foreign ministry echoed Qatar’s sentiment and reiterated its support for Syria’s “territorial integrity”.
“In this sensitive period, when the possibility of achieving the peace and stability that the Syrian people have desired for many years has emerged, Israel is once again displaying its occupying mentality,” the ministry said.
Egypt earlier said it condemned Israel’s “further occupation of Syrian lands”.
Who is Mohammed al-Bashir? Syria’s new interim PM who has connections to both Assad and the rebels
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 forcefullly sent back
Human Rights Watch said no government should send Syrian refugees back there forcefully following the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad.
The statement comes after several Western nations, including the UK and Germany, this week announced plans to pause asylum applications for Syrian citizens.
Austria said it was preparing a “repatriation and deportation” programme as it reviews previous cases of asylum granted to refugees.
“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”.
Assad’s instruments of torture: Inside Saydnaya prison’s horrors
Execution ropes and dirty cells: Assad’s instruments of torture at Saydnaya prison
Bashar al-Assad’s prisons in Syria were notorious for their harsh conditions. Human rights organisations have long reported torture, excessive force, starvation, and disease within Saydnaya prison — something the regime always denied. Now, after rebels toppled the Assad regime, cameras have been able to document the shocking environment in which prisoners were held. Footage shows execution ropes and a green piece of machinery, the purpose for which has not been verified, inside Saydnaya after its gates were flung open by rebels.
Minister says Assad transported to Russia in 'most secure way'
Ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was transported to Russia in the “most secure way possible”, the country's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov, told NBC News.
The Kremlin said on Monday that president Vladimir Putin had made the decision to grant asylum in Russia to Assad.
"He is secured, and it shows that Russia acts as required in such an extraordinary situation," Mr Ryabkov told NBC. He said that he would not elaborate "on what happened and how it was resolved".
Asked whether Russia would hand over Assad for trial, Mr Ryabkov said: "Russia is not a party to the convention that established the International Criminal Court."
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