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The demands of Syrians is to choose the way they want to govern their country: Analysis

The demands of Syrians is to choose the way they want to govern their country: Analysis
By Alastair McCready, Umut Uras, Virginia Pietromarchi, Alice Speri and Jillian Kestler-D'Amours
Published On 13 Dec 2024

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13 Dec 2024 - 23:59
 (23:59 GMT)

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For more on the scenes of celebration across Syria, where people have taken to the streets to rejoice over President al-Assad’s ouster, see our story here.

And for an expert discussion on what comes next for Syria – and what challenges face the country’s new authorities – see our video here.

13 Dec 2024 - 23:45
 (23:45 GMT)

Here’s a recap of today’s events

We are going to bring our live coverage to an end soon. Here’s a summary of the latest developments:

  • A series of explosions have been heard in Damascus, our correspondent says, as Israel has been striking “strategic areas” across Syria, particularly in and around the capital.
  • Citing an unnamed source, Russia’s state-owned TASS news agency reports that Moscow is negotiating with representatives of Syria’s new authorities “on maintaining its presence in Syria and the previous status of Russian military bases in Tartous and Latakia”.
  • The Arab League has issued a resolution condemning Israel’s seizure of a buffer zone in Syrian territory and said the Arab countries have approached the UN Security Council to hold a session on Israel’s actions against Syria.
  • Jordan is set to host a summit to coordinate a response to the situation in Syria, including humanitarian relief, security, and the road to recovery, reconciliation and democratic rule.
  • Tens of thousands of Syrians have gathered at the Umayyad Mosque for the first Friday prayers since the toppling of former President al-Assad, with many more pouring into the streets across the country in celebration.
A child gestures before the first Friday prayers at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus since al-Assad’s ouster, December 13 [Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters]
13 Dec 2024 - 23:30
 (23:30 GMT)
Infographic

Who controls what in Syria?

The removal of the al-Assad regime and the collapse of his government’s army have left three major groups in control of the country. While most Syrians are calling for unity, bringing together these groups and their interests will be a key challenge in the days ahead.

The main groups that control Syria are:

  • Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other allied opposition groups: Before the collapse of the regime, HTS was the largest fighting force and the strongest presence in opposition-held Idlib.
  • Syrian Democratic Forces: This Kurdish-dominated, United States-backed group controls parts of eastern Syria.
  • Turkish and Turkish-aligned Syrian rebel forces: The Syrian National Army is a Turkish-backed rebel force in northern Syria.

As of December 11, this is what control of the country looks like.

13 Dec 2024 - 23:15
 (23:15 GMT)

Syria currently facing a ‘triple crisis’

Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP), warned that Syria is facing the fallout from a 13-year civil war, a surge in arrivals from the Israel-Hezbollah war in neighbouring Lebanon, and the unexpected removal of longtime ruler al-Assad.

“It’s a triple crisis, and the needs are going to be massive,” he told The Associated Press.

Skau said even before the current crisis, more than three million people faced acute food shortages in Syria, but the WFP was only able to provide aid to two-thirds of those due to funding cuts.

While the situation in Syria’s largest city Aleppo is “quite calm and orderly”, Skau said there’s still uncertainty in Damascus, where markets are disrupted, currency values have dropped, food prices are rising and transport isn’t operational.

13 Dec 2024 - 23:00
 (23:00 GMT)
Explainer

Captagon trade allowed al-Assad government to bypass sanctions: Expert

Caroline Rose, a professor at Georgetown University who studies illicit economies, says the ousted Syrian government used the production and sale of Captagon – an addictive amphetamine-like drug – for political and economic purposes.

“It wasn’t just a trade, it was really an industry – an illicit industry – for the Assad regime,” Rose told Al Jazeera.

“And it was very clear that they used it as an alternative for revenue streams to really bypass the effects of sanctions, and even create a political tool that they could use at the negotiation table for normalisation with its counterparts in the Middle East.”

At its peak in 2022 and 2023, the Captagon trade accounted for about $10bn annually, Rose said, adding that the Syrian Observatory of Political and Economic Networks estimates that Syrian government officials and their allies profited with about $2.4bn per year.

“These key elements of the Syrian regime were really able to use these revenues to ensure that their lifestyles continued, that they remained comfortable, despite international sanctions and a collapsed economy in Syria,” Rose added.

For more on Syria’s Captagon trade, read our explainer here.

13 Dec 2024 - 22:45
 (22:45 GMT)

Hope here is that the new administration will build a new Syria

The doors of Damascus were closed to the opposition for more than a decade. But now, with them in charge, hundreds of thousands came to celebrate their victory in the city’s largest and oldest mosque, the Umayyad.

Welcomed by coffee and Syria’s new flag, with a green stripe and another star, Syrians said it was a new day.

Delivering a speech to the people gathered for Friday prayer, Syria’s new PM was hopeful about the future. Syrians have been calling this day ‘Victory Friday’ and celebrated across the country.

Many here say this is the joy and freedom they have long waited for. Half a century of living under the al-Assad family and 13 years of civil war devastated the economy, and much of the country, and killed nearly half a million people. Now, the hope here is that the new administration will unite communities and build a new Syria.

13 Dec 2024 - 22:30
 (22:30 GMT)

‘We feel like a free butterfly’

As we’ve been reporting, hundreds of thousands of jubilant Syrians poured onto the streets across the country earlier today, after the first Friday prayers since the fall of al-Assad’s government.

Thousands flocked to the capital’s landmark Umayyad Mosque, some raising the three-star Syrian independence flag, which none dared wave in the capital during Assad’s repressive rule. Exhilarated crowds chanted, “The Syrian people are one!”

There was a festive and relaxed atmosphere as hundreds rallied in the main square of Syria’s second-largest city, Aleppo, a scene of fierce fighting during the country’s civil war.

“We feel like a free butterfly. For 13 years, we have felt like our country was stolen from us. Today, we feel this is our country, and we have our rights,” Ruba, a Damascus resident, told Al Jazeera.

For some, it is a bittersweet day as they remember the losses of the past.

“Our joy is mixed with sadness. The regime arrested me first and then my three sons. I am free now, but they are still missing. I don’t know where they are if they are alive,” said Khadija Adnan Hala.

A child gestures before the first Friday prayers at the Umayyad Mosque [Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters]
13 Dec 2024 - 22:15
 (22:15 GMT)
Analysis

WATCH: Behind the celebration in Syria lies deep anxiety

13 Dec 2024 - 22:00
 (22:00 GMT)

Civil Defence warns Syrians of landmines, unexploded ordnance

The White Helmets civil defence group has said hundreds of thousands of landmines and exploded ordnance are scattered across Syria.

In a post on Telegram, the group said its teams carried out more than 200 removal operations between November 26 and December 12, during which 491 unexploded ordnance were removed and destroyed.

The White Helmets also provided dozens of information sessions to Syrians returning to their homes and communities.

“We remind our Syrian people of the dangers of approaching strange objects or unexploded ordnance,” the group said, adding that residents should contact them if they find anything suspicious.

13 Dec 2024 - 21:45
 (21:45 GMT)

Photos: Opposition flag replaces Assad regime’s in Syria and abroad

As Bashar al-Assad was toppled, Syrians in Syria and abroad celebrated by replacing the flag of the regime with the flag adopted by opposition groups.

The regime flag’s red fess is replaced with green and three red stars represent the three main districts of Syria: Aleppo, Damascus and Deir Az Zor.

A woman celebrates the fall of the al-Assad regime by wearing a flag adopted by Syria’s new rulers, in the Damascus old city [Ammar Awad/Reuters]
People celebrate the fall of the al-Assad regime by waving a flag adopted by Syria’s new rulers, in the Damascus old city [Ammar Awad/Reuters]
People celebrate the fall of the Assad regime by waving a flag adopted by Syria’s new rulers, in the Damascus old city [Amr Alfiky/REUTERS]
Syrians in Sweden celebrate by waving the flag adopted by Syria’s new rulers [Jonas Ekstromer/ TT News Agency]

13 Dec 2024 - 21:30
 (21:30 GMT)

LISTEN: Families search for loved ones in Syria

Family members of thousands of missing Syrians are searching for their relatives believed to have been held in prisons run by the al-Assad regime.

Some have been looking at ID cards that have been scattered across a military airbase in the capital Damascus.

Listen to the full report:

13 Dec 2024 - 21:15
 (21:15 GMT)

Turkiye to reopen embassy in Damascus on Saturday

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says a newly appointed interim charge d’affaires has left for the Syrian capital together with his delegation.

“It will be operational as of tomorrow,” Fidan said in an interview with NTV television of the embassy.

The Turkish embassy in Damascus had suspended operations in 2012 due to the deteriorating security situation. All embassy staff and their families were recalled to Turkiye.

Turkey’s foreign minister says the embassy will be operational on Saturday [File: Louisa Gouliamaki/Reuters]
13 Dec 2024 - 21:00
 (21:00 GMT)

Scholz says ‘goes without saying’ that ‘integrated’ Syrians can stay in Germany

The German chancellor has put out a video message in part addressing Syrians in the country – the largest Syrian Diaspora community outside of the Middle East.

“Many Syrians have successfully put down roots here in Germany. Some 5,000 Syrian doctors are working in our hospitals alone,” Scholz said in the clip posted on X.

“Some statements made in recent days have deeply unsettled our fellow citizens of Syrian origin. So what I want to tell you today is this: Anyone who is working here, anyone who is well integrated, is and will remain welcome in Germany. That goes without saying,” the German leader said.

“Some of the refugees hope that they will soon be able to return to their homeland. We will support that, too, as soon as the situation allows,” Scholz continued.

Germany is home to more than 1 million Syrians, many of whom fled the war in their home country.

13 Dec 2024 - 20:45
 (20:45 GMT)

Turkiye told Russia, Iran not to intervene militarily in Syria opposition push

Turkiye says it had urged Russia and Iran not to intervene militarily to support al-Assad’s forces as the opposition mounted its lightning advance on Damascus that ended with the Syrian strongman’s ouster this month.

“The most important thing was to talk to the Russians and Iranians to ensure that they didn’t enter the equation militarily. We had meetings with the Russians and Iranians, and they understood,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in an interview with Turkiye’s private NTV television.

13 Dec 2024 - 20:30
 (20:30 GMT)

Russia packing up military equipment at base in Syria, satellite images show

Russia appears to be packing up military equipment at a military airbase in Syria, according to satellite images released by Maxar.

The images taken on Friday show what appear to be at least two Antonov AN-124s, one of the world’s largest cargo planes, with their nose cones open at the Hmeimim airbase in Syria’s coastal Latakia province.

“Two An-124 heavy transport aircraft are at the airfield – both with their nose cones lifted and prepared to load equipment/cargo,” Maxar said. “Nearby, a Ka-52 attack helicopter is being dismantled and likely prepared for transport while elements of an S-400 air defence unit are similarly preparing to depart from its previous deployment site at the air base.”

Earlier, our colleagues on the ground reported that hundreds of armoured vehicles flying Russian flags are travelling on the Damascus-Homs highway towards the Syrian coast.

They added that Russian forces in central and southern Syria gathered in Qudssaya near Damascus before the fall of the regime and are now withdrawing to the Hmeimim airbase and the port of Tartous.

13 Dec 2024 - 20:15
 (20:15 GMT)
Explainer

A look at Syria’s dire economic crisis

As we’ve reported, Syrians are both celebrating the removal of President al-Assad and cautiously waiting to see what direction the new authorities take.

The new administration faces a major challenge in tackling a dire economic crisis after 13 years of war and destruction, as well as a mass exodus of people. Here’s what you need to know:

  • According to the World Bank, economic activity in Syria contracted by 84 percent between 2010 to 2023.
  • The Syrian pound depreciated by 141 percent against the US dollar in 2023, the World Bank said in May, while consumer price inflation rose by 93 percent, “exacerbated by government subsidy cuts”.
  • The Syrian Centre for Policy Research (SCPR) said 12 of Syria’s 14 governorates recorded inflation more than 100 percent in 2023, with the Hasakah governorate in the country’s northeast atop the list at 148 percent.
  • The abject poverty rate exceeded 50 percent in 2023, the SCPR said, “meaning that half of Syria’s population is unable to secure basic food needs”.
A rally in Damascus, Syria, December 13 [Yosri Al Jamal/Reuters]
13 Dec 2024 - 20:10
 (20:10 GMT)
Developing

Explosions heard in Syrian capital

Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar says a “loud explosion” has been heard in Damascus.

“It has shaken the hotel that journalists are staying in,” Serdar said, adding that it was followed by the sound of several less powerful blasts.

While the exact source and locations of the explosions were not confirmed, Serdar noted that Israel has been carrying out aerial bombardments “on strategic areas” across Syria – particularly in and around Damascus – around this time over the past few days.

We’ll bring you more on the situation when we can.

13 Dec 2024 - 20:00
 (20:00 GMT)

WATCH: ‘I am looking for my uncle’: A personal story from Syria

Sarah Kassim is one of many Syrians looking for missing loved ones.

She records her search for her uncle, who had been locked away in one of Bashar al-Assad’s prisons.

Watch the video below for her story:

13 Dec 2024 - 19:45
 (19:45 GMT)

Jordan to host summit on Syria

By Nour Odeh

Reporting from Aqaba, Jordan

Euphoria as Syrians celebrate their new-found freedom in public squares across their liberated country.

Diplomats, meanwhile, are scrambling to catch up with the regional and international aftershocks of al-Assad’s downfall.

Jordan is due to host a summit to coordinate a response to Syria’s immediate needs. On the agenda will be humanitarian relief, security and Syria’s precarious road to recovery, reconciliation and democratic rule.

Stability in Syria is a goal everyone attending the summit agrees on but not necessarily how to secure it.

The US and EU are being cautious towards the new administration, saying they want to judge actions, not words.

Absent from the meeting are the Syrians whose breathtaking victory has changed the geopolitics of this volatile region. What happens in Aqaba will affect them immediately and strategically. The challenge for them now is how to safely manoeuvre through all those agendas to get the job of Syrian recovery done.

13 Dec 2024 - 19:30
 (19:30 GMT)

Von der Leyen says conditions must allow for ‘safe’ return of refugees

The European Commission president has said she agrees with those who have called for the creation of preconditions that would allow “for a safe and dignified return of refugees” to Syria.

“The transition needs to protect all minorities,” von der Leyen also said during a virtual meeting with the leaders of G7 nations to discuss the situation in the country.

As we’ve been reporting over the past days, several European countries have already signalled plans to freeze Syrian asylum claims following the overthrow of al-Assad’s government.

Earlier, Austria said it would offer Syrian refugees a “return bonus” of 1,000 euros ($1,049) to return to their home country.