Live

Families of Syrian detainees seek missing relatives at notorious 'slaughterhouse'

Families of Syrian detainees seek missing relatives at notorious 'slaughterhouse'
By Lyndal Rowlands, Zaheena Rasheed, Umut Uras, Maziar Motamedi, Virginia Pietromarchi and Nils Adler
Published On 15 Dec 2024

This live page is now closed.

15 Dec 2024 - 23:55
 (23:55 GMT)

Thanks for joining us

This live page is now closed.

For more on Syria’s schools reopening a week after al-Assad’s overthrow, you can view our photo story, here.

If you want to know more about Syria’s new caretaker government, you can read our explainer, here.

And you can read about Israel’s plan to surge the settler population in the occupied Golan Heights, here.

15 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:

  • The Israeli government has approved a plan aimed at doubling the population of its settlements in the occupied Golan Heights that Netanyahu said would strengthen Israel.
  • The interim government in Syria has reopened schools and universities, prompting thousands of students to hold celebrations at universities across the country.
  • Ahmed al-Sharaa (aka al-Julani), the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group that led the offensive that toppled Bashar al-Assad and now heads the new Syrian administration, met with UN envoy Geir Pedersen, who is visiting Damascus.
  • In exclusive footage obtained by Al Jazeera, large crowds of former Syrian regime soldiers can be seen gathering outside the Hama Police Headquarters to begin the process of settling their legal and military status.
15 Dec 2024 - 23:30
 (23:30 GMT)

Russia evacuates Belarusian, North Korean diplomats from Syria

The Russian Foreign Ministry says a special Russian Air Force flight from the Khmeimim airbase in Syria evacuated some of the Russian diplomatic personnel in Damascus, as well as Belarus and North Korean diplomats.

“The work of the Russian Embassy in Damascus continues”, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on its Telegram messaging channel.

A Russian military aircraft approaches the Hmeimim airbase in Syria’s coastal Latakia, Syria, December 15, 2024 [Umit Bektas/Reuters]
15 Dec 2024 - 23:15
 (23:15 GMT)

Israeli strikes target weapon depots in Tartous: SOHR

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) says Israeli fighter jets have “targeted the missile launchers in the 107th Barracks in Hama area and weapon depots in Tartous countryside” in southern Syria.

In an article posted on its website, the SOHR said that earlier today, an Israeli fighter jet carried out an air strike on radars in Deir Az Zor military airport in eastern Syria.

It added that an “anonymous explosion took place at the only bridge on Euphrates River that connects between the city and Hatla Village, which is one of the seven villages in [US-backed Syrian Defence Forces]-held areas”.

15 Dec 2024 - 23:00
 (23:00 GMT)

UAE condemns Israeal’s Golan Heights settlement plans

In a statement, the UAE says that Israel’s plans to allocate state money to expand its presence in the occupied Golan Heights “threatens further escalation and tension in the region”.

Israel’s government today announced that it had approved a plan to increase the number of settlers in the illegally occupied Golan Heights days after seizing more Syrian territory following the toppling of Syria’s longtime leader Bashar al-Assad.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the government had “unanimously approved” the “demographic development” of the occupied territory, which would seek to double the Israeli population there.

The UAE, along with its “strong” condemnation, said that it is committed to the “territorial integrity of Syria, noting that the decision to expand settlements in the Golan Heights is a continuation of the occupation and a violation of international laws.

15 Dec 2024 - 22:45
 (22:45 GMT)

Photos: Syrians hold up pictures of detainees, missing persons during a protest outside Hijaz train station

People hold placards bearing the images of Syrian detainees and missing persons during a protest outside the Hijaz train station in the capital Damascus on December 15, 2024, demanding accountability for the perpetrators of crimes in Syria, an end to arbitrary detention and the closure of prisons [Bakr Alkasem/AFP]
[Bakr Alkasem/AFP]
[Bakr Alkasem/AFP]

15 Dec 2024 - 22:30
 (22:30 GMT)

WATCH: White Helmets pledge to rebuild Syria

After more than a decade of conflict, the United Nations reports that 7.4 million people remain displaced in Syria.

About 70 percent of the population requires humanitarian aid and 90 percent lives in extreme poverty. Aleppo, Hama and Homs have faced severe displacement crises.

Farouq Habib, deputy general manager of the Syrian White Helmets, expressed mixed emotions upon returning to Homs after a decade. He emphasised the need for justice and international assistance to rebuild the country and prevent further violence.

15 Dec 2024 - 22:15
 (22:15 GMT)
Analysis

Syria’s state institutions need to be maintained: Analyst

Galip Dalay, a senior fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, told Al Jazeera that although the fall of the al-Assad regime “needs to be celebrated” as it was done without much bloodshed, a lot of work needs to be done to rebuild Syria.

He said it is essential that existing institutions be “maintained” to avoid state collapse.

The appointment of the caretaker government was a “step in the right direction” and crucial to ensure these basic services continue.

However, he said the Astana trio of Turkiye, Iran and Russia “has run its course” and left a power vacuum.

He suggested that there needs to be a new dialogue between Turkiye, the Arab states and the European nations to fill this vacuum and ensure the security of Syria’s future.

15 Dec 2024 - 22:00
 (22:00 GMT)

New Damascus government calls for lifting of sanctions on Syria

A spokesman for the Department of Political Affairs of the new leaders of Syria has spoken to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.

Here is a summary of the key points he made:

  • Our priority is to activate institutions and restore life to normal.
  • Life was very tough in terms of services under the previous regime.
  • We aim to improve all services. The new administration wants all Syrians to have a decent life.
  • The people are the ones most affected by the sanctions on Syria and they must be lifted now.
  • We want Syria to return to its natural position, both Arab and international.
  • A committee will be formed to review the constitution. The constitution will be reviewed to determine a form of government that suits society and its aspirations.
15 Dec 2024 - 21:45
 (21:45 GMT)

Al-Sharaa meets with UN’s Syria envoy

The leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group that led the offensive that toppled Bashar al-Assad and now heads the new Syrian administration, has met with UN envoy Geir Pedersen, who is visiting Damascus, a statement on the group’s Telegram channel says.

Ahmed al-Sharaa (aka al-Julani) discussed with Pedersen “the changes that have occurred on the political scene which make it necessary to update” a 2015 UN Security Council resolution that set out a roadmap for a political settlement in Syria, “to suit the new reality”, the statement said.

15 Dec 2024 - 21:30
 (21:30 GMT)

Belarusian diplomats ‘withdrawn’ from Syria

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry has expressed “its gratitude” in a post on X to “Russian colleagues”, who ensured the safe arrival of its diplomats back in Minsk.

15 Dec 2024 - 21:15
 (21:15 GMT)

Civil rights group condemns Israeli ‘ethnic cleansing in Syria’

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the US-based Muslim civil rights and advocacy organisation, has condemned what it describes as “Israeli ethnic cleansing” of the Quneitra governorate in southern Syria.

“The criminal Israeli government’s war of ethnic cleansing in Gaza has now spread to occupied Syrian territory, where Netanyahu’s fighters are destroying water networks and electrical towers to force Syrians out of their homes”, the statement reads.

“The Biden administration must stop enabling this radical regime’s campaign of chaos, killing and destruction. Syrians must be able to rebuild their nation, free from Israeli occupation.”

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic have reported that Israeli tanks are now stationed in towns and villages in Syria’s southwest after the Israeli military expanded its occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights following the collapse of the al-Assad regime.

15 Dec 2024 - 21:00
 (21:00 GMT)

More on reopening of Qatar’s Damascus embassy

Earlier, we reported that Qatar will soon re-open its embassy in Damascus, closed for 13 years during Syria’s civil war.

In a statement, Qatar says that the embassy will reopen this Tuesday, December 17, and that Khalifa Abdullah Al Mahmoud Al-Sharif will serve as Charge d’Affaires.

Qatar severed all diplomatic relations with former President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and closed its embassy in 2011.

The re-opening of the embassy is reflective of the “continuation of the State of Qatar’s firm and supportive position towards the Syrian people and their struggle to wrest their legitimate rights to a decent life”, the statement says.

15 Dec 2024 - 20:45
 (20:45 GMT)

US, UK top diplomats hold call on Syria’s future

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told British Foreign Secretary David Lammy that Washington will back “an accountable and representative” government in Syria, the US State Department said after their call today.

“The Secretary underscored US support for an accountable and representative Syrian government chosen by the Syrian people,” a statement on the call reads.

The US and UK lines on what each seeks for the future of Syria have been in near lockstep, including on how they will both choose to interact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the dominant opposition group in Syria, which both countries have placed on their lists of “terrorist” groups.

15 Dec 2024 - 20:30
 (20:30 GMT)

Photos: Looters swarm a complex that housed former military officers in Damascus’s suburbs

A Syrian fighter carries his weapon past a burning house during a raid to stop looters who swarmed a residential complex of ousted President Bashar al-Assad’s military officers and set some homes on fire in the village of Husseiniya, in the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sunday, December 15, 2024 [Leo Correa/AP Photo]
[Leo Correa/AP Photo]
[Leo Correa/AP Photo]
Syrian fighters take position as looters stay inside a building at a residential complex of former al-Assad military officers in Husseiniya, Syria, Sunday, December 15, 2024 [Leo Correa/AP Photo]

15 Dec 2024 - 20:15
 (20:15 GMT)

Turkiye distributes food aid in northern Syria’s Manbij

Turkiye’s disaster management agency says it distributed food packages to 1,365 families in the city, according to Anadolu.

This announcement comes just days after Turkish-backed Syrian rebel groups took control of the city, long held by the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

On Wednesday, the SDF confirmed that the United States had mediated a ceasefire agreement between it and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) faction there.

15 Dec 2024 - 20:00
 (20:00 GMT)

The US has an interest in preventing the re-emergence of ISIL in Syria: US senator

US Senator Lindsey Graham says it should be left up to Syrians to form their new government and what kind of country they want “to a point”.

In an interview with NBC News in response to a question about the latest developments in Syria, he said the United States does “have an interest in preventing ISIS (ISIL) from coming back on the battlefield”.

“They want to destroy our friends in Israel; there are 50,000 ISIS (ISIL) fighters under the control of Kurdish allies of the United States in northeastern Syria”, he said.

“It is in our national security interest they do not break out of jail and re-establish the caliphate. It is in our national security interest that we help the Kurds,” he added.

“Turkiye is putting pressure on the Kurds in northeastern Syria”, Graham continued as he called for “a demilitarised zone”.

“If Turkiye attacks the Kurds and these ISIS (ISIL) fighters break out of jail, it’s a nightmare for us, it’s a nightmare for Syria, it’s a nightmare for the world” he said.

15 Dec 2024 - 19:45
 (19:45 GMT)

UK unveils new aid package for Syria

In a statement, the United Kingdom’s Foreign Office says it is allocating 50 million British pounds (about $63m) in funding to help “the most vulnerable Syrians, including refugees across the region”.

About 30 million pounds ($38m) of this support “will help provide immediate help to more than a million people including food, shelter, emergency healthcare, and protection for the most vulnerable, as well as support emerging needs including the rehabilitation of essential services such as water, hospitals and schools”, the statement reads.

The majority of this money will be used to support United Nations programmes already in place, the UK says.

The remaining money will be split evenly between Lebanon and Jordan, and will go to the UN’s World Food Programme and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

15 Dec 2024 - 19:30
 (19:30 GMT)

WATCH: Former Syrian regime soldiers gather in Hama to settle legal status

Exclusive footage obtained by Al Jazeera shows large crowds of former Syrian regime soldiers gathering outside the Hama Police Headquarters to begin the process of settling their legal and military status.

Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut reports:

15 Dec 2024 - 19:15
 (19:15 GMT)

UK in contact with HTS in Syria: Minister

Britain’s foreign minister says that London has established diplomatic contact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the offensive that ousted Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.

They remain “a proscribed terrorist organisation, but we can have diplomatic contact and so we do have diplomatic contact, as you would expect”, said David Lammy.

“We want to see a representative government, an inclusive government. We want to see chemical weapons stockpiles secured, and not used, and we want to ensure that there is not continuing violence,” he added.

“So, for all of those reasons, using all the channels that we have available, and those are diplomatic and of course intelligence-led channels, we seek to deal with HTS where we have to.”

The United Kingdom and United States have said they are evaluating future ties to HTS, including whether or not they will be removed from ban lists, based on their actions in power.