Syrian rebels reach Damascus suburbs = rebel commander
Syrian rebels have reached the outskirts of Damascus and are rapidly advancing their offensive, opposition activists and rebel commanders announced Saturday. They captured some of Syria's largest cities continued.
Rami Abdulrahman, head of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an anti-government war monitoring group, said rebels were active in the Damascus suburbs of Mahdamiya, Jaramana and Daraya.
He said rebel fighters were also marching from the east. Syria Go to Harasta on the outskirts of Damascus.
Rebel commander Hassan Abdul Ghani posted on Telegram that the rebels had begun a siege of Damascus in the “final stage” of the attack. He said the fighters were advancing from southern Syria toward Damascus.
We'll bring you live updates on this developing story.
“,”elementId”:”40fa83fb-5339-4b71-b091-479152e536df”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
“Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!” Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
“,”elementId”:”e7816ceb-9590-452e-acc3-a1364fa86fb0″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1733585295000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”10.28 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1733585908000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”: “10.38 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1733585781000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”10.36 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”10.36″,”title”:”President Trump says US should have nothing to do with Syria conflict.” ,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Saturday 7 December 2024 10.56 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published Saturday 7 December 2024 10.14 EST”},{“id”:”675467a28f08d291b219a8bb”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, remains in Damascus and is carrying out his work from the capital, the Syrian state news agency said on Saturday.
“,”elementId”:”48a11710-d677-4984-a75f-36d7b6a32ba1″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Anti-government protesters toppled a statue of Assad’s late father, Hafez, in the mostly Druze and Christian Damascus suburb of Jaramana earlier on Saturday, witnesses told Agence France-Presse.
“,”elementId”:”53d899b7-8388-4949-b90f-f61ad2a1ae22″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
A witness said he he had seen dozens of protesters tearing down the statue in a main square in Jaramana, which bears the former president’s name. Another witness said the statue had been broken up when he went to the square later. Video footage circulating online and verified by AFP showed young men toppling the statue and chanting anti-Assad slogans.
“,”elementId”:”d4e3cf15-7626-468d-a9a8-2be46a2dac42″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1733584802000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”10.20 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1733584818000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”: “10.20 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1733584818000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”10.20 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”10.20″,”title”:”Bashar al-Assad remains in Damascus – state news agency”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Saturday 7 December 2024 10.56 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published Saturday 7 December 2024 10.14 EST”},{“id”:”675464c88f0896ed0c236e1b”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Syrian insurgents have reached the suburbs of Damascus, opposition activists and a rebel commander said on Saturday, as a rapidly moving offensive in which they have taken over some of Syria’s largest cities continued.
\n Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said insurgents were active in the Damascus suburbs of Maadamiyah, Jaramana and Daraya.
“,”elementId”:”7324c6cc-aee0-4877-869c-9738a3e3a388″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
He said opposition fighters were also marching from eastern Syria towards the Damascus suburb of Harasta.
\n Hassan Abdul-Ghani, an insurgent commander, posted on Telegram that opposition forces had started to encircle Damascus in the “final stage” of their offensive. He said fighters were heading from southern Syria towards Damascus.
“,”elementId”:”964a6742-a7ec-4b0f-9bcb-7965522ede77″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
We will bring you live updates on this developing story.
“,”elementId”:”d1d25cbc-4f25-4990-ad2b-75806a7ac50a”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:true,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1733584459000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”10.14 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1733584343000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”: “10.12 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1733584459000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”10.14 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”10.14″,”title”:”Syrian rebels reach Damascus suburbs – rebel commander”,”Contributor” :[],”primaryDateLine”:”Saturday 7 December 2024 10.56 EST”,”SecondaryDateLine”:”First published Saturday 7 December 2024 10.14 EST”}],”filterKeyEvents”:false,”id”:”key-events-carousel-mobile”,”absoluteServerTimes”:false,”renderingTarget”:”Web”}”>
main events
The need for an orderly political transition in Syria has never been more urgent, the UN special envoy for Syria said on Saturday.
At a press conference in Doha, Geir Pedersen called for calm to avoid bloodshed in Syria.
Mr. Pedersen also met with a U.S. representative and other Western envoys in the Qatari capital.
Below are some of the latest images coming from Syria.
President Trump: “The United States should have no involvement in the Syrian conflict''
President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States should not get involved in the Syrian conflict, where rebels threaten President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
“Syria is in turmoil, but the United States should have nothing to do with it because it is not our friend. This is not our fight. Let's play. Don't get involved. ” President Trump said in a post on his social media platform “Truth Social.”
Demonstrators destroyed a statue of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's late father in a main square on the outskirts of Germana, about 10 kilometers from central Damascus, witnesses and activists told Reuters.
Demonstrators calling for the overthrow of Assad in the predominantly Druze suburbs also headed to government buildings in a heavily guarded area of the capital that is home to several security branches.
Ryan Maloof, an activist and editor of the website Swaida 24, which covers the state, told Reuters that the demonstrators went to a security station to demand that the area be evacuated.
Unlike other government-controlled areas, where demonstrators are shot by security forces, authorities tolerate most protests by the country's Druze minority.
Bashar al-Assad remains in Damascus – state news agency
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad remains in Damascus and carries out his duties from the capital, the Syrian state news agency said on Saturday.
Anti-government protesters toppled a statue of Assad's late father Hafez early Saturday in Jaramana, a predominantly Druze and Christian suburb of Damascus, witnesses told Agence France-Presse. .
Witnesses said they saw dozens of demonstrators destroying a statue bearing the former president's name in Jaramana's main square. Another witness said the statue was broken when he went to the square later. Video footage circulating online and seen by AFP showed young people toppling statues and shouting anti-Assad slogans.
Turki al-Mahrawi, the mayor of the border town of al-Qaim, told Reuters that about 2,000 Syrian troops had crossed the border into Iraq and were taking shelter.
He added that some soldiers were injured and are currently receiving treatment.
Syrian rebels reach Damascus suburbs = rebel commander
Syrian rebels have reached the outskirts of Damascus and are rapidly advancing their offensive, opposition activists and rebel commanders announced Saturday. They captured some of Syria's largest cities continued.
Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based opposition war monitoring group, said rebels were active in the Damascus suburbs of Mahdamiya, Jaramana and Daraya.
He said rebel fighters were also marching from the east. Syria Go to Harasta on the outskirts of Damascus.
Rebel commander Hassan Abdul Ghani posted on Telegram that the rebels had begun a siege of Damascus in the “final stage” of the attack. He said the fighters were advancing from southern Syria toward Damascus.
We'll bring you live updates on this developing story.
