Damascus

75 nationals evacuated from Syria reach Beirut: Indian embassy in Lebanon

All 75 Indian nationals evacuated from Syria including 44 'Zaireen' from Jammu and Kashmir who were stranded at Saida Zainab, have now reached Beirut, a statement by the Indian embassy in Lebanon said.The statement added that Noor Rahman Sheikh, Ambassador of India to Lebanon received them in Beirut.The statement added that the passengers will return by available commercial flights to India.In a post on X, the Embassy said, "All 75 Indian nationals evacuated from Syria including 44 'zaireen' from Jammu & Kashmir who were stranded at Saida Zainab, have now reached Beirut. Ambassador Noor Rahman received them upon their arrival in Beirut. They will return by available commercial flights to India."The evacuation, coordinated by the embassies of India in Damascus and Beirut, was put into effect following our assessment of the security situation and requests from Indian nationals in Syria, as per a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs.The Government of India accords the ...

UNSC 'united on Syria'; US, Russia emphasise territorial integrity

Russia has diplomatically shielded its ally Assad during the war, casting more than a dozen vetoes at the Security Council, on many occasions backed by China

Hundreds of Syrians at Turkish border crossing, waiting to return home

Hundreds of Syrian refugees gathered at two border crossings in southern Turkey on Monday, eagerly anticipating their return home following the fall of President Bashar Assad's government. Many arrived at the Cilvegozu and Oncupinar border gates at daybreak, draped in blankets and coats. Some camped by border barriers, warming themselves with makeshift fires or resting on the cold ground. The crossings correspond to the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salameh gates on the Syrian side of the border. Among those waiting at Cilvegozu was 28-year-old Muhammed Zin, who was excited at the prospect of returning home. He fled Damascus in 2016 and has been living and working in Istanbul. Assad was shooting us, killing us, he told The Associated Press. I will return to Syria now. Thank God, the war is over. At the Oncupinar border gate, Mustafa Sultan, 29, said he was crossing into Syria to find his older brother who was imprisoned in Damascus under Assad's rule. I haven't seen him for 13 years. The

Syria falls to Islamist rebels, Assad flees to Moscow: All that happened

Bashar-al Assad's autocratic regime fell on December 8, marking an end to a 13-year-old civil war. Here's all you need to know about the latest rebellion

Oppn fighters drive Syrian leader from country. Who are they, what now?

Syria's government appears to have fallen after opposition fighters said they entered Damascus following a stunning advance. Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali said the government was ready to extend its hand to the opposition and hand over its functions to a transitional government. I am in my house and I have not left, and this is because of my belonging to this country, Jalili said in a video statement. He said he would go to his office to continue work in the morning and called on Syrian citizens not to deface public property. A Syrian opposition war monitor, Rami Abdurrahman, said Assad left the country on a flight from Damascus early Sunday. Jalili did not address reports of Assad's departure. Opposition fighters entered Syria's capital in a swiftly developing crisis that has taken much of the world by surprise. Syria's army has abandoned key cities with little resistance. Who are these opposition fighters? If they take control of Damascus after seizing some of Syria

Al-Golani tours seized city of Aleppo in Syria; battles intensify near Hama

The leader of Syria's most powerful insurgent group toured the seized city of Aleppo on Wednesday in a surprise visit the first since the group captured large parts of the city over the weekend as fierce fighting intensifies in the government-led counter-offensive in northern Hama. Abu Mohammed al-Golani, who heads the jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, greeted crowds of supporters near the city's iconic citadel as he smiled and waved in dark green military garb. Surrounded by masked gunmen in flak jackets, men and boys chanted God is great as he walked through the heart of Syria's largest city. The sudden capture of Aleppo, also an ancient business hub, was a stunning prize for Syrian opponents of President Bashar Assad. It was the first opposition attack on the city since 2016, when a brutal Russian air campaign retook the northwestern city for Assad after rebel forces had initially seized it. Intervention by Russia, Iran and Iranian-allied militant Hezbollah and other groups has

Who is Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of Syria's shock insurgency?

Over the past dozen years, Syrian militant leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani has worked to remake his public image and the insurgency he commands, renouncing longtime ties to al-Qaida and consolidating power before emerging from the shadows. Now al-Golani, 42, seeks to seize the moment yet again, leading his fighters in a stunning offensive that has put them in control of Syria's largest city, reigniting the country's long civil war and raising new questions about President Bashar Assad's hold on power. The surge and al-Golani's place at the head of it are evidence of a remarkable transformation. Al-Golani's success on the battlefield follows years of maneuvering among extremist organisations while eliminating competitors and former allies. Along the way he moved to distance himself from al-Qaida, polishing his image and his extremist group's de-facto salvation government in an attempt to win over international governments and the country's religious and ethnic minorities. Putting hims

Syrian army launches counterattacks to curb insurgency; Iran offers help

The Syrian military rushed reinforcements to the northwest and launched airstrikes Sunday in an attempt to push back insurgents who seized the country's largest city of Aleppo, as Iran pledged to help the government counter the surprise offensive. Iran has been a key political and military ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad in the country's long-running civil war, but it was unclear how Tehran would support Damascus in the latest flareup that began Wednesday. Insurgents led by jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham launched a two-pronged attack on Aleppo and the countryside around Idlib that day, before moving toward neighbouring Hama province. On Sunday, government troops created a strong defensive line in northern Hama, as they attempted to stall the insurgents' momentum, according to Britain-based opposition war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Meanwhile, jets pounded the cities of Idlib and Aleppo, killing at least 15 people, according to a group that operates in ..

Russia calls on all parties for restraint after Iranian strikes on Israel

Russia noted that Tehran had said the attack was made within the right to self defence after Israel's strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus that Moscow condemned

Iran warns Israel that its embassies not safe after deadly Damascus strike

A top Iranian military adviser on Sunday warned Israel that none of its embassies were safe following a strike in Damascus last week blamed on Israel that killed 12 people, including two elite Iranian generals. Regional tensions have threatened to draw the Middle East into a wider conflict as Israel's war against Hamas marks six months. Israel has been preparing for an Iranian response to the strike without directly acknowledging its involvement. The remarks by Gen. Rahim Safavi signaled that the attack on a diplomatic mission could be met with a similar response. None of the embassies of the (Israeli) regime are safe anymore, Safavi, a military adviser to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim agency. Safavi spoke at a memorial ceremony in Tehran for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard generals who were killed in the strike that flattened an Iranian consular building in Damascus. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said ..

Israeli strike destroys Iran's consular building in Damascus, kills several

An Israeli airstrike destroyed the consular section of Iran's embassy in Syria, killing a senior Iranian military adviser and several others, Syrian officials and state media said on Monday. The strike appears to signify an escalation of Israel's targeting of Iranian military officials and their allies in Syria, which have intensified since Hamas militants - who are supported by Iran - attacked Israel on October 7. Israel, which rarely acknowledges such strikes, said it had no comment. The attack killed Iranian military adviser Gen. Ali Reza Zahdi, who led the elite Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria until 2016, according to the Iranian Arabic-language state television channel Al-Alam and pan-Arab television station Al-Mayadeen, which has reporters in Syria. Iranian Ambassador Hossein Akbari condemned Israel and said as many as seven people were killed. First responders were still searching for bodies under the rubble. Akbari said two police officers who guard the building were ...

Israeli airstrike in Damascus kills top Iranian commander Zahedi: Report

A Lebanese security source, speaking to Reuters, said one of the dead was Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)

Israeli strike has hit Damascus residential area, casualties caused: Syria

Israeli strikes hit a neighbourhood of the Syrian capital on Wednesday morning, Syrian state TV said, and other media reported casualties. State TV reported that several missiles hit the western neighbourhood of Kfar Sousseh and didn't elaborate. The pro-government Sham FM radio station said the strike hit a building near an Iranian school and caused casualties. Israel had no comment. Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the strike was an assassination. He did not say who might have been the target. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of war-torn Syria in recent years. Israel rarely acknowledges its actions in Syria, but it has said that it targets bases of Iran-allied militant groups, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah, which has sent thousands of fighters to support Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces. Last month, an Israeli strike on the Syrian capital's western ..

Israeli airstrike hit Damascus airport and put it out of service: Syria

An Israeli airstrike Sunday hit the international airport in the Syrian capital of Damascus and put it out of commission, Syrian state media said. Israel has struck Syria's Damascus and Aleppo international airports several times since the onset of the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza on Oct 7. Israel has also struck parts of western Syria after rocket fire landed on the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights. SANA, citing an unnamed military official, said Israel fired missiles from the direction of the Golan Heights, striking Damascus International Airport and other areas in the Damascus countryside causing material damage. There was no mention of casualties. Britain-based opposition war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the strikes came just hours after the airport resumed flights after a monthlong hiatus following a previous Israeli strike. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of war-torn Syria in recent years. It

Canada, Netherlands take Syria to top UN court; accuse Damascus of torture

The Netherlands and Canada are taking Syria's government to the United Nations' highest court on Tuesday, accusing Damascus of massive human rights violations against its own people. Since 2011, Syrians have been tortured, murdered, sexually assaulted, forcibly disappeared and subjected to chemical weapon attacks on a mass scale, the Netherlands and Canada said when they launched the case at the International Court of Justice in June. Twelve years on, human rights violations at the hands of the Syrian regime persist, they added. Syria's conflict started with peaceful protests against President Bashar Assad's government in March 2011 but quickly morphed into a full-blown civil war after the government's brutal crackdown on the protesters. The tide turned in Assad's favour against rebel groups in 2015, when Russia provided key military backing to Syria, as well as Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. In a written filing to the court, the Netherlands and Canada said torture

4 Syrian soldiers killed in suspected Israeli airstrikes around Damascus

Israeli airstrikes hit areas around Damascus early Monday, killing at least four Syrian soldiers, Syrian state media reported. Syrian state television, citing a military source, said four other soldiers were also wounded while the strikes caused some material damage. Israeli authorities did not immediately comment. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-linked war monitor, said the strikes targeted weapons and munitions warehouses and positions of Iran-backed militias around Damascus. They say at least six were killed and seven others wounded. The Observatory said the strikes mark 22nd time Israel has struck Syria this year. Israel, which has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment next door, has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets in government-controlled parts of neighboring Syria in recent years, but it rarely acknowledges them. Israel has also targeted the international airports in Damascus and the northern Syrian city of Aleppo several times over the past f

5 people killed, 15 injured in Israeli air strikes on Syria's Damascus

After the incident, the quake-affected country's Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said that Syria expect that United Nations Security Council would condemn the Israeli aggression

Five dead as Israeli missile strikes residential area in Damascus

The strike, a rare one aimed at a residential area in the heart of the city, damaged several buildings in the densely populated district close to Omayyad square

Syrian Army says five killed in Damascus by Israeli missile attack

The Israeli attack was launched from the occupied Golan Heights, targeting several military sites in Damascus, including the residential neighborhood of Kafar Sousah

Israeli airstrikes reported in Damascus, 2 weeks after earthquake

Israeli airstrikes targeted a residential neighbourhood in central Damascus early Sunday, Syrian state news reported. Syrian state media agency SANA, citing a source in the Damascus police command, reported that an unspecified number of people had been killed and wounded. Loud explosions were heard over the capital around 12.30 am local time, and SANA reported that Syrian air defences were "confronting hostile targets in the sky around Damascus." There was no immediate statement from Israel on the attack. Israeli airstrikes frequently target sites in the vicinity of Damascus. The Saturday night strikes were the first since a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria on February 6. The last reported attack on Damascus was on January 2, when the Syrian army reported that Israel's military fired missiles toward the international airport of Syria's capital early Monday, putting it out of service and killing two soldiers and wounding two others. Israel has carried out .