\n The Turkish Embassy in Damascus suspended operations in 2012 amid concerns over escalating security problems during the Syrian civil war.
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The leader of the Islamist rebels that seized power in Syria last week has called on people to take to the streets to celebrate what he described as “the victory of the blessed revolution” on Friday.
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In a video message shared on Telegram, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, who is now using his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa, called on people to “go to the streets to express their joy”.
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His call comes ahead of the first Friday prayers since Syria’s new leadership took control. During the early days of Syria’s uprising in 2011, protesters would usually gather after Friday prayers.
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He is set to attend Friday prayers at Damascus’s landmark Umayyad mosque.
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Hello, welcome to our live coverage of events in Syria and around the Middle East. It’s a little after noon in Damascus. Here are the major developments:
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The US secretary of state, Anthony Blinken, is wrapping up a visit to Turkey as part of a broader effort to rally support across the Middle East for a peaceful political transition in Syria. The US administration is worried that a power vacuum in Syria could worsen tensions in the region, already heightened by multiple conflicts, and create conditions for the Islamic State group to regain territory and influence.
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Blinken said Friday that there’s broad agreement on what both Turkey and the US would like to see in Syria following concerns about the two NATO allies’ competing interests in Syria, as Turkey targets a US-backed Kurdish group seen as key to containing the extremists.
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Blinken also said he saw “encouraging signs” of progress toward a ceasefire in Gaza and urged Turkey to use its influence to encourage Hamas to accept. “We discussed Gaza, and we discussed I think the opportunity… to get a ceasefire in place. And what we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks are more encouraging signs that that is possible,” Blinken told reporters.
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G7 leaders are set to gather virtually on Friday afternoon to discuss Syria. The leaders have said they are prepared to support a transition to an “inclusive and non-sectarian” government, and emphasised “the importance of holding the Assad regime accountable for its crimes.”
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Russia has also reportedly established direct contact with the political committee of Syria’s Islamist rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, according to the Interfax news agency, which quoted Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Mikhail Bogdanov. In comments to reporters, Bogdanov reportedly said Moscow aims to maintain its military bases in Syria.
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Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, has ordered the military to “prepare to remain” throughout the winter in the UN-patrolled buffer zone between Israeli and Syrian forces on the strategic Golan Heights. Israel seized the demilitarised zone on Sunday, hours after Syrian rebels ousted Bashar al-Assad.
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In the US, a former Syrian military official who oversaw a prison where alleged human rights abuses took place has been charged by a federal grand jury with several counts of torture and conspiracy to commit a crime. Samir Ousman al-Sheikh, who oversaw Syria’s infamous Adra Prison from 2005 to 2008 under recently ousted President Bashar Assad, was arrested in July on visa fraud charges.
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major events
Turkey to reopen embassy in Syria
Turkey has ordered its chargé d'affaires to reopen its embassy in Syria, state media Anadolu Agency said.
The Turkish embassy in Damascus ceased operations in 2012 due to concerns about the escalating security situation during the Syrian civil war.
The Associated Press spoke to Travis Timmerman, an American national who was found this week outside Damascus, who said he had been detained seven months ago after walking into the country during a Christian pilgrimage. Ta.
Speaking from a hotel room in Damascus, Timmerman called his release a “blessing.”
He said he was among thousands of people released from Syria's vast military prisons this week. He was freed, he said, by “liberators who came to the prison and smashed through the (cell) door with hammers.”
He said the women were in a cell above him and he regularly heard them singing and teaching children. He also heard some men being beaten regularly. “I was never hit,” he said.
The 29-year-old didn't seem bitter about his time spent locked up. “This is a time of solace and I can meditate on my life,” he told The Associated Press. “That was good for me.”
Below are the latest photos of Syria from the communication.
Opposition leader calls on Syrians to celebrate in the streets on Friday
The leader of the Islamic rebels who seized power in Syria last week called on his people on Friday to take to the streets to celebrate what he described as a “blessed revolutionary victory.”
In a video message shared on Telegram, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, who now uses his real name Ahmed al-Sharah, urged people to: Let's take to the streets to express our joy.” ”.
His call came ahead of the first Friday prayers since Syria's new leadership took power. In the early days of the Syrian uprising in 2011, protesters typically gathered after Friday prayers.
He plans to attend Friday prayers at Damascus' landmark Umayyad Mosque.
Opening overview
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of events in Syria and around the Middle East. It's past noon in Damascus. Key developments include:
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US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is wrapping up his visit to Türkiye As part of a broader effort to mobilize support across the Middle East for a peaceful political transition in Syria. The U.S. government is concerned that a power vacuum in Syria could exacerbate tensions in the region, already high over multiple conflicts, and create conditions for Islamic State to regain territory and influence.
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Blinken said Friday that both Türkiye and the United States have broad agreement on what they want in Syria. Next concern Two NATO allies are sparring over competing interests in Syria as Turkey targets the U.S.-backed Kurdish group seen as key to containing the extremists.
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Blinken also said there were “encouraging signs” of progress toward a ceasefire in Gaza. He called on Turkey to use its influence to encourage Hamas to accept it. “We talked about Gaza, we talked about opportunities for a ceasefire, and what we've seen in recent weeks is more encouraging signs that it's possible,” Blinken told reporters. He told the group.
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G7 leaders are scheduled to meet virtually on Friday afternoon to discuss Syria. The leaders said they were ready to support a transition to an “inclusive and non-sectarian” government and stressed “the importance of holding the Assad regime accountable for its crimes.”
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Russia has also reportedly established direct contacts with the political committee of the Islamic opposition in Syria. Interfax news agency reported Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, citing Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. Bogdanov reportedly said in comments to reporters that Moscow aims to maintain military bases in Syria.
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Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz gave orders to the military. The plan is to “prepare to remain” through the winter in a UN-patrolled buffer zone between Israeli and Syrian forces in the strategic Golan Heights. Israel seized the demilitarized zone on Sunday, hours after Syrian rebels ousted President Bashar al-Assad.
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A former Syrian military official who oversaw a prison where human rights abuses allegedly took place has been indicted in the United States. A federal grand jury indicted him on several counts of torture and criminal conspiracy. Samir Usman al-Sheikh, who oversaw Syria's notorious Adra prison from 2005 to 2008 under recently ousted President Bashar al-Assad, was arrested on visa fraud charges in July.
