Politics Syria celebrates a new beginning after the fall of Assad
After the fall of the old government, people all over Syria celebrated a new beginning. Tens of thousands of people gathered at the Umayyad Mosque in the capital Damascus alone after Friday prayers, according to eyewitnesses.
13.12.2024, 13:47
SDA
According to the Arabic news channel Al-Jazeera, Syrians from many parts of the country flocked to the capital for the celebrations.
The leader of the rebel group Haiat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Ahmed al-Sharaa, previously known by his combat name as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, had previously called on people to celebrate peacefully in large public squares. On Sunday, a rebel alliance led by HTS toppled the ruler Bashar al-Assad, who had been in power for 24 years. Assad fled to Russia, where he was granted asylum.
Turkey takes action against Kurdish militias
Turkey wants to increase the pressure on Kurdish militias in Syria. His government will take preventive steps against all "terrorist organizations" active in Syria, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an official statement following a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Ankara. Turkey is fighting the Kurdish militia YPG in Syria, which is a key partner for the USA in the fight against the Islamic State (IS). However, Ankara regards the YPG as an offshoot of the banned Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK).
Turkey is seen as the most influential foreign player following the change of power in Syria. "Ankara has the strongest communication channels and has long cooperated with the Islamist group currently calling the shots in Damascus," wrote analyst Gönül Tol in an article for Foreign Affairs with regard to the HTS.
Ex-director of torture prison indicted
The former director of a notorious prison in the Syrian capital Damascus has been charged with torture in the USA. The 72-year-old is accused of ordering his subordinates to inflict severe physical and mental suffering on political and other prisoners, according to the US Department of Justice. Sometimes he was also personally involved in torture. According to media reports, he was arrested at Los Angeles airport in July of this year.
The man is said to have been in charge of Damascus Central Prison, also known as Adra Prison, under Assad from around 2005 to 2008. In a "punishment wing", prisoners were allegedly beaten on his orders while hanging from the ceiling with their arms outstretched. Prisoners were also tortured with a device known as a "flying carpet", which twisted their bodies and caused unbearable pain, including vertebral fractures.
Russia loses influence
According to an internal analysis by the German Armed Forces, Russia is preparing to withdraw its troops from Syria completely. The Russian Mediterranean convoy has already left the port of Tartus, according to a Defense Ministry memo obtained by the German Press Agency. According to the memo, security guarantees from the new Syrian rulers after the fall of Bashar al-Assad probably only refer to the orderly withdrawal of Russian forces and not to a permanent presence.
The Latakia military airport, which Russia has been using as a hub for supplying its forces in Libya, as well as the port of Tartus, is also up for discussion. The loss of this base could affect air transportation to Libya, as longer flight routes mean less material capacity. Without stopovers, heavy transports would only be possible if Turkish overflight rights continued to exist, which are viewed critically within NATO, the report states.
Israel stations soldiers on important mountain
Israeli soldiers are to remain stationed on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon throughout the winter. Defense Minister Israel Katz has instructed the army to prepare to remain on the peak for the coming months, his office announced. The strategically important location enables the surveillance of large parts of Syria and Lebanon and is of particular relevance in view of the developments in Syria.
Following the uprising in Syria, Israel's army had deployed troops to a so-called buffer zone - a geographical area that lies between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria in accordance with the 1974 ceasefire agreement and is under UN supervision. According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this is a temporary measure. The advance into Syrian territory has met with international criticism.
New airstrikes on weapons depots
Since the fall of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, Israel's air force has also been massively bombing military facilities in the interior of the country. Air strikes were carried out again on Friday night. Among other things, weapons depots and research centers in the rural areas surrounding Homs and Hama were hit, reported the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
