Syrian rebels say they have reached Damascus in ‘final stage’ of offensive – Middle East crisis live | Middle East and north Africa
Syrian rebels say they have reached Damascus in ‘final stage’ of offensive – Middle East crisis live | Middle East and north Africa
yayınlandı
0
This content provides updates on the situation in Syria, where Syrian rebels have reportedly reached the suburbs of Damascus in a rapid offensive. The rebels, including opposition fighters and insurgent commanders, are making significant advancements towards the capital city. The content also mentions the liberation of an isolated Syrian refugee camp after years of siege and the UN’s strategic reduction of staff in Syria due to the escalating conflict. The article includes statements from various sources and sheds light on the humanitarian crisis and military developments in the region. The article discusses the liberation of residents in the isolated Syrian refugee camp of al-Rukban after more than 10 years. The Syrian army soldiers, who had enforced a siege on the camp for over six years, abandoned their positions, allowing the residents to rejoice. Al-Rukban camp was formed in 2014 in the arid no-man’s land between Syria and Jordan, housing around 10,000 refugees who fled the Syrian government’s crackdown on protesters. The residents had been surviving on meager amounts of food brought in periodically by smugglers after the camp was besieged by the Syrian army and Jordanian government in 2018. Residents expressed their relief at the prospect of being able to return to their villages after many years of hardship. Bu içerikte, Yasser’ın vatanı olan Homs şehrine saldıran İslamcı grup Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) tarafından Suriye ordusunun şehirden çıkarıldığını öğrendikten sonra yaşadıkları anlatılmaktadır. Şehirden kaçan ya da isyancılar tarafından öldürülen askerlerin bıraktığı tanklar, zırhlı araçlar ve topçu birliklerinin fotoğraflarının gönderildiği belirtilmektedir. Ayrıca, ABD güçleri tarafından denetlenen 55 kilometrelik silahsızlandırılmış bölgeyi koruyan Özgür Suriye Ordusu’nun kampın etrafını devriye gezdiği ve sonrasında antik şehir Palmira’yı ele geçirdiği aktarılmaktadır. Ancak, kamp sakinlerinin evlerine dönebilmesi için beklemeleri gerektiği ve bölgenin mayınlarla dolduğu belirtilmektedir. Ayrıca, Suriye ordusunun kampı kuşatarak kamp sakinlerini açlığa mahkum ettiği ve çocukların neredeyse tamamının beslenme sorunu yaşadığı bilgisi verilmektedir. Ayrıca, Suriye’deki hükümet güçlerinin şehirleri terk etmesi ve belgeleri yakarak suçlarından hesap verme çabası içine girdiği, ancak muhalif güçlerin kritik noktaları ele geçirerek adalet arayışında tarihi bir an yaşandığına dair bilgiler de içermektedir. The article discusses the current situation in Syria, focusing on the panic and fear among residents of Damascus as rebels announce the start of operations to encircle the capital. The residents are rushing to secure essential supplies amid traffic jams and uncertainty about the future. The article also touches upon the removal of Assad banners in Douma by Syrian activists and journalists, highlighting the deadly chemical attack in 2018. It mentions the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ findings regarding the attack and shares sentiments of hope for justice and freedom in the region. Additionally, it includes insights from a resident of Aleppo, Rama Alhalabi, who expresses concerns about the changing dynamics in the conflict and the fate of friends in the army as Assad’s regime weakens. The article portrays the emotional turmoil and uncertainty faced by individuals in war-torn Syria amidst the ongoing crisis. Bu içerikte, Suriye’deki olaylar hakkında yaşanan olağanüstü gelişmeler anlatılmaktadır. HTS önderliğindeki militanlar Homs şehri dışında toplanırken, muhalif güçler başkentin geniş güney banliyölerine girdiklerini iddia ettiler. Suriye ordusu, başkentin güneyindeki iki huzursuz ilçede kuvvetlerini yeniden konuşlandırdığını açıkladı ve Hama’dan çekildikten günler sonra geri çekilmeye işaret eden bir başka mesaj verdi. Bir haftadan kısa sürede, ülke genelinde beş il merkezi birden Esad’ın kontrolü altında olmaktan çıktı. Ayrıntılar için linki takip edebilirsiniz. Ayrıca, BM’nin Suriye’deki tüm personelini tahliye ettiği yönündeki söylentilerin doğru olmadığı, ancak kritik olmayan personeli ülke dışına yer değiştirdiği ve bu durumun gelişen koşullar karşısında personelin güvenliğini sağlamak için alınan bir önlem olduğu belirtilmektedir. Bu içerikte, sivil kayıpların, kadın ve çocuklar dahil olmak üzere artmaya devam ettiği ve acil insani yardımın koordine edilmesi gerekliliğinin altı çiziliyor. Suriye’deki olaylar hakkında detaylı bilgi veriliyor ve çatışmaların durdurulması gerektiği vurgulanıyor. Ayrıca, Suriye’nin bölgesel müttefiklerinin ve hatta bazı rakiplerinin, ülkenin ve kurumlarının bir arada kalması için hızla ilerleyen olayları yavaşlatmayı umduğu belirtiliyor. Suriye lideri Beşar Esad’ın izole olduğu ve halkın isyanına karşı yeni taktikler denemekte olduğu ifade ediliyor. Son olarak, Esad’ın hala Şam’da olduğu ancak tehditler artmaya devam ederse başka bir yere gitme ihtimalinin olduğu belirtiliyor. Esad’ın ayrılacağı ve yeni bir Suriye’nin olacağı ancak tartışmaların bu yeni Suriye’nin nasıl olacağı ve kimin şekillendireceği üzerinde yoğunlaştığı ifade ediliyor. This content provides updates on the situation in Syria, particularly around Damascus. It discusses the efforts of rebels reaching Damascus, the proximity of Saydnaya prison to the conflict, and the security measures imposed by the Syrian government. It also highlights the human rights violations and atrocities committed in Saydnaya prison. The information is sourced from various reports and statements from activists and officials. Bu içerikte, içerik açıklaması oluşturulmaktadır. İçeriğin ne hakkında olduğu, hangi konuları kapsadığı ve okuyuculara neler sağlayabileceği gibi detaylar açıklanmaktadır. İçeriğin özeti gibi düşünülebilir. Bu içerikte, içerik açıklaması oluşturma konusunda yapay zeka asistanı tarafından nasıl yardımcı olunabileceği ele alınmaktadır. İçerik açıklaması, belirli bir içeriğin özetini ve anahtar noktalarını okuyuculara sunarak içeriği daha anlaşılır hale getirir. Yapay zeka asistanları, içerik yaratıcılarına bu süreçte rehberlik ederek daha etkili ve çekici içerik açıklamaları oluşturmalarına yardımcı olabilir. Bu içerik, içerik açıklamasının önemini vurgulayarak, okuyucuların içeriği daha iyi anlamalarını sağlamayı amaçlamaktadır. Bu içerik, içerik açıklaması oluşturulması için bir yapay zeka asistanı olan bir dil modeli tarafından oluşturulmuştur. İçerik açıklaması, bir metnin özetlenmesi ve ana fikirlerinin vurgulanması amacıyla kullanılır. Bu içerikte yapay zeka asistanı, içerik açıklamasının önemini ve amacını açıklamıştır. Bu içerikte, içerik açıklaması oluşturmanın önemi ve nasıl yapılacağı hakkında bilgi verilecektir. İçerik açıklaması, bir içeriğin özeti ve ana konularının kısa bir şekilde özetlenmesidir. İyi bir içerik açıklaması, okuyucuların içeriğin ne hakkında olduğunu hızlıca anlamasına yardımcı olabilir ve içeriğin daha fazla ilgi çekmesini sağlayabilir. Bu içerikte, içerik açıklamasının önemi, nasıl oluşturulması gerektiği ve etkili bir içerik açıklamasının özellikleri ele alınacaktır. Bu içerik, içerik oluşturma sürecinde içerik açıklaması oluşturmanın önemini vurgulamaktadır. İçerik açıklaması, bir içeriğin özünü ve amacını net bir şekilde tanımlamak için kullanılan metindir. İyi bir içerik açıklaması, okuyucuların içeriği hızlıca anlamasını sağlar ve içeriğin ne hakkında olduğunu özetler. Doğru bir içerik açıklaması oluşturmak, içeriğin hedef kitleye ulaşmasını ve etkili bir şekilde iletilmesini sağlar. Bu nedenle, içerik oluştururken içerik açıklaması oluşturmaya önem vermek gerekmektedir. Bu içerik, içerik açıklaması oluşturma sürecini öğreten bir rehberdir. İçerik açıklaması, bir içeriğin özünü ve önemli detaylarını okuyucuya özetleyen bir metindir. İyi bir içerik açıklaması, okuyucuların içeriği daha iyi anlamalarına yardımcı olabilir ve içeriğin hedef kitleye uygun olup olmadığını belirlemelerine yardımcı olabilir. Bu rehber, içerik açıklamasının önemini vurgulamakta ve nasıl etkili bir içerik açıklaması oluşturulabileceği konusunda ipuçları sunmaktadır.
[ad 1]
Syrian insurgents have reached the suburbs of Damascus, opposition activists and a rebel commander said on Saturday, as a rapidly moving offensive in which they have taken over some of Syria’s largest cities continued.
Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said insurgents were active in the Damascus suburbs of Maadamiyah, Jaramana and Daraya.
He said opposition fighters were also marching from eastern Syria towards the Damascus suburb of Harasta.
Hassan Abdul-Ghani, an insurgent commander, posted on Telegram that opposition forces had started to encircle Damascus in the “final stage” of their offensive. He said fighters were heading from southern Syria towards Damascus.
We will bring you live updates on this developing story.
Key events
Residents of isolated Syrian refugee camp liberated after more than 10 years
William Christou
Residents of al-Rukban camp rejoiced on Saturday night, after the Syrian army soldiers which had enforced a more than six-year-long siege on the camp, abandoned their positions and fled.
Al-Rukban, a camp formed in 2014 in the arid no-man’s land between Syria and Jordan, houses around 10,000 refugees who fled the Syrian government’s crackdown on protesters during the country’s revolution. In 2018, the Syrian army and Jordanian government imposed a siege on the camp, forcing residents to survive on meager amounts of food brought in periodically by a few smugglers.
“I cannot describe the feelings, the words don’t exist. I will be able to return to my village after fourteen years,” said Yasser, a resident of the camp originally from a village outside of Homs in central Syria speaking under a pseudonym in case government forces returned. Yasser had read a few hours earlier that the Syrian army had been driven out of his hometown by rebels led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) as part of its attempt to take Homs city.
Pictures sent to the guardian showed Syrian army vehicles, tanks and artillery abandoned where soldiers had fled or had been killed by members of the Free Syrian Army. The Free Syrian Army had patrolled the 55-kilometer demilitarized zone around the camp, supervised by US forces as part of its Global Coalition to defeat ISIS.
On Saturday, the Free Syrian Army had broken out of the demilitarized zone, killing the remaining Syrian army soldiers and capturing the ancient city of Palmyra.
Leaving al-Rukban had been a dream for Yasser and for the other camp residents. Living conditions in the camp had deteriorated in recent years, with food and medical supplies scarce. Syrian soldiers had tightened their siege on the camp, preventing smugglers from reaching the camp. During the last survey of a UN clinic before it closed down in 2020, almost 100% of children under 5 who went to the clinic were malnourished.
Still, camp residents had to wait before they could return home. The area around the demilitarized zone had been heavily mined, and would take some time to clear.
“We have to wait around 20 days. I will be counting every second,” Yasser said.
Amid rampant speculation as to the whereabouts of President Bashar al-Assad as the rebel offensive presses ever closer to the capital, Bloomberg’s Sam Dagher reports that the leader of an increasingly shrinking rump state is making a last-ditch effort to hold on to power. This includes indirect diplomatic overtures to the US and President-elect Donald Trump.
One proposal, according to Dagher, conveyed through the United Arab Emirates, offers to sever Syria’s ties with Iran-backed militant groups like Hezbollah — but only if Western powers use their influence to curb the fighting.
Assad has ordered his army to retreat and focus on defending Damascus, effectively relinquishing control of much of the country.
Robert Mackey
As government forces withdraw from cities and towns across Syria, there is a scramble to preserve documents that could be used to hold members of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to account for crimes against humanity. The Syrian journalist Qusay Noor points to video that appears to show “a huge warehouse of records and reports on citizens in the Political Security Branch” in the city of Suwayda.
Allow content provided by a third party?
This article includes content hosted on embed.bsky.app. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as the provider may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.
But, according toRim Turkmani, director of the Syria conflict research programme at the London School of Economics: “The notorious State Security branch of Mukhabarat in Homs has evacuated its building, setting tons of documents – evidence of their crimes – ablaze on the roof. Friends in the city witnessed the evacuation from their balconies, and now, many in Homs are overwhelmed with tears of relief and joy.”
“As opposition forces continue to take control of key sites across Syria – central offices, prisons, political, intelligence offices, and military branches – we are witnessing a historical moment in the search for justice!” Rawan Shaif of Amnesty International notes on Bluesky. “These documents are not just pieces of paper – they are the threads that connect us to the past and to the hope for accountability. They hold the potential to expose the full extent of the crimes committed and the perpetrators behind them. They are essential for holding individuals, command, and perpetrators accountable and ensuring that justice is pursued. But the road ahead requires preservation; these materials, these records and accounts, must be safeguarded, archived, and kept secure. Some incredibly emotional times ahead, but the work is just beginning.”
Panic gripped Damascus after fast-advancing rebels announced the start of operations to encircle Syria’s capital, prompting many to rush to secure essential supplies.
Residents spoke to Agence France-Presse of a state of panic as traffic jams clogged central Damascus and people sought supplies and queued to withdraw money from ATM machines.
Damascus resident Mohammed, 35, told the news agency he felt “a mix of shock, fear and worry about the future”.
“Nothing compares to what we’re going through today. But I think we’re witnessing days that will go down in history,” he added.
Robert Mackey
Syrian activists and journalists, including the freelance reporter Thomas van Linge, are sharing video of Assad banners being taken down in Douma, just east of Damascus, where there was a deadly chemical attack in 2018 during a government offensive.
Last year, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) concluded in its third report on Douma that “there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Syrian Arab Air Forces were the perpetrators of the chemical weapons attack on 7 April 2018.”
Rawan Shaif, an open-source investigator at Amnesty International, shared one video clip said to habe been recorded in Douma tonight with the observation: “Chemical weapons have long been used by Assad to break the will of the people. Douma, scarred by that day, has not known freedom since.
Justice is not just about punishment—it’s about giving survivors and families the opportunity to be heard and to be recognised, its the least that they deserve. It’s about holding perpetrators accountable, ensuring these crimes are not forgotten.
Douma may have been broken in April 2018, but it has not been forgotten. Perhaps now, it can be free once again.”
According to Charles Lister from the Middle East Institute, the main rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, issued a statement declaring its“full readiness to cooperate with the international community in.. monitoring weapons & sensitive sites.”
Ruth Michaelson
When Islamist militants swept into her home town of Aleppo little over a week ago, Rama Alhalabi sheltered indoors as fear engulfed her.
Forces loyal to president Bashar al-Assad, who had sought to reassure residents that nothing was happening, suddenly deserted the city. But as the insurgency pushed south, rapidly seizing control of the city of Hama on the road to Damascus, Alhalabi’s fears about life under militia rule have slowly ebbed. Instead they have been replaced by fears that her friends in the army will be abandoned by their commanding officers as Assad’s regime loses its grip.
“People in Aleppo are feeling more comfortable now we’re further from the areas under the regime’s control,” said the 29-year-old, while still using a pseudonym in fear Assad could retake the city.
“At the same time, I have many friends serving in the army and I don’t want them to get hurt. People with power inside the regime will protect themselves, and they will leave the poor fighters who were forced to join the army to face their awful fate alone.
“Things changed insanely fast,” she added. “We can barely believe what’s happening.”
As militants spearheaded by the group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) massed outside the city of Homs and rebel forces said they had entered the vast southern suburbs of the capital, rapid change swept across Syria.
The Syrian army declared it had “redeployed”, its forces in two restive provinces south of Damascus in the latest thinly veiled message of retreat, days after they withdrew from Hama. In under a week, five provincial capitals across the country were suddenly no longer under Assad’s control.
Read more on the unprecedented events in Syria:
UN in Syria denies rumours it is evacuating all staff from country
Ruth Michaelson
The UN in Syria denied rumours that it is evacuating all staff from the country, but confirmed that it is “strategically reducing its footprint by relocating non-critical staff outside the country”, as insurgents get closer to the centre of Damascus.
The UN’s resident and humanitarian coordinator for Syria, Adam Abdelmoula, released the following statement:
Recent rumors suggesting that the United Nations is evacuating all staff from Syria are false. The United Nations remains steadfast in its commitment to stay and deliver life-saving assistance to the people of Syria during this critical time.
To ensure the safety of our personnel while maintaining essential operations, the UN is strategically reducing its footprint by relocating non-critical staff outside the country. This is a precautionary measure to protect our teams amid evolving circumstances. Let me emphasize – this is not an evacuation and our dedication to supporting the people of Syria remains unwavering.
The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate. Hostilities have displaced over 370,000 individuals, with many seeking refuge in the northeast and others trapped in front-line areas, unable to escape. Civilian casualties, including women and children, continue to rise, underscoring the urgent need for coordinated humanitarian action.
More footage has been released of protesters pulling down a statue of Hafez al-Assad in Jaramana’s southern suburbs.
The main rebel group, the IslamistHay’at Tahrir al-Sham, said it had a duty to protect governmental, international and UN offices in Syria.
Around 2,000 Syrian soldiers crossed the border into Iraq to seek sanctuary, the mayor of Iraqi border town al-Qaem said.
For the latest footage, journalist Rami Jarrah is posting clips of unfolding developments on his Bluesky feed.
Footage shows protesters toppling statue of Bashar al-Assad’s father in Damascus suburb – video
Ruth Michaelson
Syria’s regional allies and even some of its opponents are hoping to slow fast-moving events in Damascus “in order to keep the country and its institutions together”, and fearing the state’s total collapse, said former Syrian diplomat Bassam Barabandi.
“No one wants a power vacuum in Damascus – they don’t want to see a situation like the fall of Kabul again,” he said. Even Syria’s northern neighbour, Turkey, feared instability in Damascus, he added, despite president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s cautious statements of support for change.
News from Doha of urgent talks between Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan was unlikely to comfort Assad. The three countries agreed that there should be a halt to the fighting, but Assad’s longtime backers Russia and Iran publicly voiced a need for talks between the Syrian leader and opposition, a shift away from their previous positions of total support for his rule.
“The most important thing is to start political talks between the Syrian government and legitimate opposition groups,” said Araghchi.
Barabandi believes that Bashar al-Assad, isolated in Damascus, is likely obsessing over how to react to the mass uprising against his rule in a way that differentiates him from the legacy of his father, Hafez al-Assad, using new tactics to crush dissent that neither president has tried.
The younger Assad has previously turned the state’s weapons against his own people, including using the chemical nerve agent sarin on people in the Damascus suburbs in 2013, killing 1,400 people.
The fight for Damascus “will be make or break” for Assad, said Barabandi. “At the same time, things on the street are moving so fast that we don’t know what the options will be. There are a lot of moving parts, it’s hard to say the end game.”
The Syrian presidency issued a statement earlier this afternoon in an attempt to quash rumours that Assad had fled, and said he remained at work “in Damascus”. Barabandi was skeptical that Assad would remain in Damascus should the threats to his rule continue to mount.
He added: “For sure, Assad is out, there will be a new Syria. But now the discussions are what kind of new Syria, who will shape it, who will steer it. I think this is where we are now.”
Saydnaya prison, located about 30km north of Damascus, sits within close reach of fighters opposing the Syrian government.
The prison, which holds thousands of critics of the regime, has been the subject of reports accusing Syrian authorities of systematically and secretly killing detainees.
In 2017, Amnesty International documented acts of murder, torture, enforced disappearance and extermination at Saydnaya since 2011, calling the violations “crimes against humanity”.
Amid the prison’s inaccessibility to journalists and monitoring groups, Amnesty International and Forensic Architecture met with five survivors in Istanbul in April 2016. The researchers built a 3D model to reconstruct conditions inside the prison using the survivors’ testimonies.
Syrian activist Shakeeb al-Jabri said that “thousands of families eagerly await news of their loved ones”.
Syria minister says ‘very strong’ security cordon around Damascus – state TV
Syria’s interior minister told state TV that security forces had imposed an impenetrable cordon around Damascus on Saturday, as fighters opposing the government said they were nearing the capital, Agence France-Presse reports.
“There is a very strong security and military cordon on the far edges of Damascus and its countryside, and no one … can penetrate this defensive line that we, the armed forces, are building,” Mohammed al-Rahmoun told state TV from Damascus.
At least 30 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza on Saturday
At least 30 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza on Saturday, according to local health officials.
Qatar expressed hope for renewed efforts toward a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
Palestinian health officials, which does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its daily death tolls, said that dozens more people were injured across the enclave.
Syrian rebels enter suburbs of Homs, according to Reuters
A Homs resident as well as army and rebel sources told the news agency that the insurgents had breached government defenses from the north and east of the city.
A rebel commander said they had taken control of an army camp and villages outside the city.
The Syrian military, which had sent large numbers of reinforcements to defend the key central city of Homs, did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comments on the reports.
Insurgents have seized almost the entire south-west within 24 hours, and have advanced to within 30km (20 miles) of Damascus.
Syrian rebels say they have reached Damascus in ‘final stage’ of offensive – Middle East crisis live | Middle East and north Africa
Yorumlar kapalı.