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
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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
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."
What is the Golan Heights and why is it important to Israel and Syria?
What is the Golan Heights and why is it so important to Israel and Syria?
Israel entered the buffer zone in the Golan Heights hours after Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime crumbled
Shamima Begum hopes of UK return ‘bolstered’ by fall of Assad - claim
Shamima Begum hopes of returning to UK ‘bolstered’ by fall of Assad, lawyer claims
The collapse of the Assad regime in Syria could pave the wave for a fresh legal bid by Shamima Begum with the future uncertain for the Syrian detention camp where she is being held
After the fall of Assad, what is the threat to Europe from Isis?
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
Despairing Syrians search Saydnaya prison for signs of loved ones
Despairing Syrians search Assad’s notorious Saydnaya prison for signs of loved ones
Families desperately scoured the filthy cells of Syria’s Saydnaya prison on Monday (9 December) for any sign of their long-detained loved ones after its gates were flung open by rebels following the downfall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Thousands of prisoners spilled out of Assad’s detention system after he was toppled on Sunday. There were tearful reunions with relatives who believed their family members had been executed years earlier. However, other families have been trawling dark corridors and hidden cells in the complex for a trace of those detained for attending protests, defying authorities or voicing discontent.
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
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