Video reportedly shows Russian troops pouring into Khmeimim airbase in Syria | Credit: SameralAtrush/X
Russian wheat supplies to Syria have been suspended, according to Russian and Syrian sources, as Moscow’s forces appear to be quickly withdrawing from the country.
Two vessels carrying Russian wheat for Syria – a vital lifeline for its population that has endured 13 years of civil war – did not reach their destinations on Friday.
The sources told Reuters that the supplies had stopped due to uncertainty about the new government and payment delays.
“I think no one would dare supply wheat to Syria under the current circumstances,” the source said.
Russia, the world’s largest wheat exporter and a major ally to Bashar al-Assad, supplied wheat to Syria through complex financial and logistical arrangements to circumvent Western sanctions.
Russian soldiers stand by military pickups as they prepare to evacuate a position in Qamishli – Delil Souleiman/AFP
In the wake of the move, Ukraine said it was willing and ready to step in. “If Syria needs food – then we are there,” Vitaliy Koval, Kyiv’s agriculture minister, told Reuters.
It comes as Russian forces appear to be rapidly pulling out of its two military bases – a naval base in Tartus on the Mediterranean, which was established by the Soviets, and an air base at Khmeimim built in 2015.
Satellite images have revealed almost all Russia’s warships have left Tartus, while footage has appeared to show convoys of military trucks streaming down motorways appearing to head for the coast as well as military planes taking off.
It is not yet clear how the new Islamist regime will engage with Moscow, but the Kremlin said on Friday it was negotiating with rebel coalition leaders to try to maintain control of the bases.
03:21 PM GMT
Thanks for following our live coverage. That’s all for today.
Here’s a round-up of the biggest stories:
-
Jubilant Syrians take to the streets after rebel leader calls for celebration of revolution
-
EU looking to make contact with new Syrian leadership ‘soon’
-
Celebrate our victory but don’t fire guns, rebel leader tells Syrians
-
UN: Syrian new regime sending ‘constructive’ signals
-
Israeli troops to remain in Syria over winter
-
Emergency meeting held on Syria’s chemical weapons
-
‘If the West acted faster, Assad would have been gone’, says Wes Streeting
-
Former head of Syrian prison charged with torture in US
03:13 PM GMT
Druze in Syria say they want to be part of Israel as they fear new ‘Isis-like’ rulers
The residents of a Druze community in southern Syria have expressed a desire be part of Israel to prevent a possible assault on the minority by radical Islamists.
A video circulating on social media shows a gathering of Druze in the Syrian village of Hader which is located inside the buffer zone separating Israel from Syria, now fully controlled by the IDF.
“If we have to choose, we will choose the lesser evil. And even if it’s considered evil to ask to be annexed to the (Israeli) Golan, it’s a much lesser evil than the evil coming our way,” a man says to a crowd of people in Arabic, according to a translation by Times of Israel.
The unnamed man told the public assembly that the “evil” coming their way “might take our women, might take our daughters, they might take our houses.”
“Bashar al-Assad left. What do we have left? Nothing. We asked to be annexed to the Golan to preserve our dignity,” he continued.
Some 700,000 Druze live in Syria while about 20,000 Druze live in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights adjacent to the city of Hader where the calls to join Israel were made. Another roughly 150,000 Druze live inside Israel.
03:07 PM GMT
Jubilant Syrians take to the streets after rebel leader calls for celebration of revolution
Tens of thousands of Syrians have taken to the streets across the country, heeding the call of their new rebel leader to celebrate “the victory of the blessed revolution”.
Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, who led the rebel coalition that seized power, called on Syrians earlier on Friday “to go to the streets to express their joy”, but to avoid shooting guns.
In Damascus, thousands gathered outside the Umayyad Mosque – a sight unimaginable just days ago – for the first Friday prayers since the ousting of Bashar al-Assad.
In Aleppo, Hama and Homs – all cities taken by the rebel coalition forces in quick succession during their 12-day offensive – residents cheered, cried and danced freely on the streets.
Exhilarated crowds chanted “one, one, one, the Syrian people is one!” and waved the three-star Syrian independence flag, which no one dared raise during Assad’s brutal rule.
“We are gathering because we’re happy Syria has been freed, we’re happy to have been liberated from the prison in which we lived,” Nour Thi al-Ghina, 38, from Damascus, said.
03:02 PM GMT
EU looking to make contact with new Syrian leadership ‘soon’
The EU is seeking to establish diplomatic contact “soon” with Syria’s new rebel rulers, a high-ranking EU official said Friday.
“What we are now thinking is to establish contacts, to pass messages about our expectations,” the official told AFP, adding that the outreach would be at “working level”.
03:01 PM GMT
Pictured: Russian military convoy on the road from Damascus
A Russian military convoy on the road to Damascus, reportedly heading towards the Moscow-controlled Tartus naval base
02:33 PM GMT
Listen: Inside Homs with Syria’s White Helmets
In our most recent podcast episode of Battle Lines, Farouq Habib from Syria’s White Helmets speaks about returning to his home city of Homs for the first time in over a decade.
He tells us about the devastation Bashar al-Assad wreaked across Syria, and how the country can heal now that the regime has fallen.
Plus: The Telegraph’s senior foreign correspondent Sophia Yan has been on the Turkish-Syrian border. She’s been speaking to refugees excited to finally be able to go back, but also to Turkish Alawites who continue to have an affinity for Assad.
Listen here.
02:01 PM GMT
Austria offers Syrian refugees €1,000 to go home
Austria’s government said on Friday it is offering Syrian refugees a “return bonus” of €1,000 to move back to their home country after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
Karl Nehammer, the conservative Chancellor, reacted quickly to Assad’s overthrow on Sunday, saying the same day that the security situation in Syria should be reassessed so as to allow deportations of Syrian refugees.
Austria’s government, under pressure from the hard-Right, has said it will focus on voluntary deportations. It has also stopped processing Syrians’ asylum applications, as have more than a dozen European countries.
Syrians are the biggest group of asylum-seekers in Austria.
01:48 PM GMT
Watch: Celebrations in the cities of Suwayda and Hama
Celebrations in Suwayda City square after liberation from the Assad regime | Credit: Suvwayda24/X
Celebrations in Hama City square after liberation from the Assad regime | Credit: Levant_24_/X
01:39 PM GMT
In pictures: Mass celebrations across Syria
Syrians raising a giant independence-era flag, as they celebrate the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Damascus – AFP
Syrians celebrate in the capital with a child holding a toy gun – AP
Syrians cheer and dance on statues in Aleppo on Friday – REUTERS
People gather on the streets of Suwayda in southwestern Syria – AFP
Flares are let off and flags raised in the old town of Damascus – AP
A woman draws the colours of the independent flag adopted by the new Syrian rulers on a girl’s face outside the Umayyad Mosque – REUTERS
01:22 PM GMT
Celebrate our victory but don’t fire guns, rebel leader tells Syrians
The leader of the rebel coalition that seized power in Syria last week has called on Syrians to take to the streets to celebrate “the victory of the revolution” but not to fire guns.
“I would like to congratulate the great Syrian people on the victory of the blessed revolution,” said Abu Mohammed al-Jolani in a video message on Friday, appearing in a white shirt and vest, a notable departure from his usual military fatigues.
“I call on them to go to the streets to express their joy without firing bullets and scaring people,” he added, just days after he told his fighters that the new Islamist regime would not accept the “chaos of guns appearing on our streets”.
His warning came after a man, who was celebrating with thousands on the streets of Raqqa on Thursday, reportedly lost control of his machine gun and mistakenly opened fire on a crowd.
The gunfire sparked skirmishes between young men and local rebels linked to US-backed Kurdish forces. At least one person was killed and 15 wounded, witnesses said.
12:56 PM GMT
UN: Syrian new regime sending ‘constructive’ signals
Syria’s new interim authorities have asked the United Nations refugee agency to remain in the country following the ousting of president Bashar al-Assad, sending a “constructive” signal, the organisation said Friday.
The agency said they had had “some contact with the interim authorities”, Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, UNHCR’s representative in Syria, adding: “The initial signals that they are sending us are constructive”.
“The needs are absolutely huge,” he said.
12:28 PM GMT
What is captagon, the drug that earnt Assad billions?
The collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime has thrown light into the dark corners of his rule, including the industrial-scale export of the banned drug captagon.
The rebel fighters have seized military bases and distribution hubs for the amphetamine-type stimulant often known as “poor man’s cocaine” – which has flooded the black market across the Middle East. The new regime has vowed to destroy all that they find.
Captagon turned Syria into the world’s largest narco state. It became by far Syria’s biggest export, dwarfing all its legal exports put together, according to estimates.
Experts believe that Assad used the threat of drug-fuelled unrest to put pressure on Arab governments.
A rebel fighter holds a large haul of the drugs, often referred to as the ‘poor man’s cocaine’ – REUTERS
Captagon pills inside an apple-shaped container – REUTERS
12:11 PM GMT
Watch: Syria’s interim PM al-Bashir arrives at Umayyad Mosque
12:09 PM GMT
EU announce ‘air bridge’ to deliver Syria aid via Turkey
The European Commission on Friday announced the launch of an “air bridge” operation to deliver an initial 50 tonnes of health supplies to Syria via neighbouring Turkey.
The items from EU stockpiles in Dubai will be flown to Adana, Turkey for distribution in Syria “in the coming days,” a commission statement said.
A further 46 tonnes of relief supplies will be trucked from a stockpile in Denmark.
11:28 AM GMT
In pictures: Syrians celebrate first Friday prayers since Assad’s fall
Thousands of Syrians converged at the landmark Umayyad Mosque in Damascus ahead of Friday prayers, where Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the leader of the rebels forces, is expected.
Men, women and children flocked to the mosque, an unusual sight in Damascus, with some raising the Syrian independence flag, used by the opposition since the 2011 uprising.
Some chanted: “One, one, one, the Syrian people is one”.
People attend the first Friday prayers inside the Umayyad Mosque following Bashar al-Assad’s fall in Damascus – REUTERS
A man with his child celebrate inside the mosque on Friday – REUTERS
They chanted ‘One, one, one, the Syrian people are one’ and made ‘V’ signs for victory – REUTERS
Thousands came together to pray on Friday – AP
11:17 AM GMT
Bahrain king tells Syrian rebel leader ‘I’m ready to cooperate’
King Hamad told Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani that Bahrain is ready to cooperate with the new regime on Friday.
In a letter, the monarch said Bahrain, which is the current Arab summit president, was ready to “continue consultations and coordination with Syria”.
11:03 AM GMT
Killed Syrian activist Hamada: ‘Even it costs me my life I will pursue them’
10:45 AM GMT
Israeli troops to remain in Syria over winter
Israeli troops have been ordered to “prepare to remain” throughout the winter in a UN-patrolled buffer zone between Israeli and Syrian forces in the strategic Golan Heights.
“Due to the situation in Syria, it is of critical security importance to maintain our presence at the summit of Mount Hermon,” a spokesman for Israel Katz, Israel’s defence minister, said on Friday.
On Sunday, Israeli forces took control of the demilitarised zone and the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, which overlooks Damascus, in a move that the UN said violated its 1974 armistice with Syria.
Israel later confirmed its troops had moved to “additional points” beyond the buffer zone to protect its border, although it remains unclear how far into Syrian territory they have advanced.
Mr Katz said that Israel aims to impose a “sterile defence zone” in southern Syria that would be enforced without a permanent troop presence.
Antonio Guterres, UN chief, said he was “deeply concerned” on Thursday over “extensive violations” of Syrian sovereignty and by the hundreds of Israeli strikes on the country.
An Israeli soldier posed with a sniper on top of Mount Hermon, Syria’s highest peak which overlooks Damascus – IDF
10:29 AM GMT
Pictured: Russian forces ‘preparing to evacuate’ northern Syria
A Russian Air Force Kamov Ka-52 Alligator military attack helicopter is pictured with other trucks and vehicles at the Russian airbase in Qamishli – AFP
Russian military vehicles and artillery guns are pictured flying the Russian flag – AFP
Russian soldiers stand by military pickups as they prepare to evacuate a position in Qamishli
10:16 AM GMT
Emergency meeting held on Syria’s chemical weapons
The US ambassador to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has said the fall of the Assad regime was a historic chance to rid Syria of chemical weapons “once and for all”.
The OPCW held a closed-door emergency meeting on Thursday to seek approval for funding and assistance to a chemical non-proliferation process in Syria.
The OPCW, established in 1997 under the Chemical Weapons Convention, requires its 193 member states to declare and dismantle their chemical weapons programs.
The Assad regime is accused of repeatedly using chemical weapons on civilians during the country’s protracted civil war.
09:49 AM GMT
Dispatch: ‘Hero’ who exposed Assad horrors tortured to death by regime in its final hours
Few could bear to look long at his face, with its sunken, sorrowful eyes so full of pain – but when Mazen al-Hamada spoke, you could not help but listen.
He spoke to audiences across the West, in lecture theatres and parliaments, bearing witness to the darkness of the Assad regime in low, urgent tones.
Sometimes, he showed them his wrists, scarred by the chains from which he hung until he lost consciousness. He would speak of the beatings and the rapes he and others suffered, his haunted eyes reddening at the memory.
On Thursday, they laid Hamada to rest in central Damascus, the capital coming to a halt as its residents gathered to honour the man who became the embodiment of a nation’s suffering and who now had become as powerful a symbol in death as he was in life.
Hamada was one of the last casualties of the 13-year uprising against Bashar al-Assad, tortured to death by a vindictive regime in its death throes just hours before the advancing rebels flung open the doors of the infamous Sednaya prison where he was held.
Read the full dispatch here.
Mazen Hamada’s coffin and photograph being carried through the streets of Damascus – Heidi Pett for The Telegraph
09:36 AM GMT
Streeting: ‘If the West acted faster, Assad would have been gone’
09:26 AM GMT
Blinken tells Turkey it is ‘imperative’ to work against Isis in Syria
Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, told Turkey it was “imperative” to work against a resurgence of the Isis in Syria following the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
“Our country worked very hard and gave a lot over many years to ensure the elimination of the territorial caliphate of Isis to ensure that that threat doesn’t rear its head again. And it’s imperative that we keep at those efforts.”
His remarks came after meeting Hakan Fidan, Turkye’s foreign minister, in Ankara on the second leg of his Syria crisis tour.
09:03 AM GMT
‘Take to the streets and celebrate the revolution’, says rebel leader
The leader of the Islamist rebels that seized power in Syria last week called on Syrians to take to the streets to celebrate “the victory of the revolution” on Friday.
“I would like to congratulate the great Syrian people on the victory of the blessed revolution and I call on them to go to the streets to express their joy,” said Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, now using his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa.
08:51 AM GMT
Turkey will never ‘allow weakness’ in fight against Isis in Syria
Turkey will never ease up in the fight against Islamic State in Syria, despite its operations against Kurdish fighters seen as key to containing the terrorists, Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Antony Blinken.
“Turkey will never allow any weakness to arise in the fight against Isis,” Mr Erdogan told the US secretary of state late Thursday.
Since the fall of the Assad regime, there have been ongoing fighting in Syria’s north between US-backed Kurdish forces and Turkey-backed rebels.
Washington and Ankara supported Syrian rebels during the 13-year civil war but clashed over one of the factions – the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The SDF is the main ally in a U.S. coalition against Isis terrorists. It is spearheaded by the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara sees as an extension of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants that it outlaws and who have fought the Turkish state for 40 years.
Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, shakes hands with Recep Tayyip Erdogan during their meeting at Ankara – Reuters
08:40 AM GMT
Watch: Israeli strikes inside Syria
08:35 AM GMT
In pictures: Families continue to search for answers inside Sednaya prison
Search efforts by relatives of prisoners continue at Sednaya prison, near Damascus, known as the ‘human slaughterhouse’ – Getty Images Europe
Thousands of people were said to have been tortured and executed inside the sprawling prison under Assad’s rule – Getty Images Europe
A man digs inside a prison cell looking for answers of lost loves ones – Shutterstock
08:16 AM GMT
107 documented deaths in Assad’s prisons in 2024
Since early 2024, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has documented the death of 107 civilians under torture and over poor healthcare in Assad regime prisons and security centres.
The dead including a political activist, a university student, a writer, an engineer, an Islamic thinker, a civilian with US nationality, two regime army defectors and a civilian from Tripoli.
07:55 AM GMT
China ‘deeply concerned’ about Syria
Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi told his Egyptian counterpart that China is “deeply concerned” about the situation in Syria.
“The two sides are deeply concerned about the current situation in Syria and call for respect for Syria’s sovereignty,” Wang said during a joint press conference in Beijing with Badr Abdelatty, Egypt’s foreign minister.
He urged the prevention of “terrorist and extremist forces from taking advantage of the chaos”.
07:49 AM GMT
Former head of Syrian prison charged with torture in US
The former head of a notorious Syrian prison was charged Thursday in the United States with torturing opponents of the now-collapsed regime of Bashar al-Assad.
Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 72, who has been in the US since 2020, ran Damascus Central Prison, known locally as Adra Prison, from 2005 to 2008 and is accused of torturing detainees.
“It’s a huge step toward justice,” said Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the US-based Syrian Emergency Task Force. “Samir Ousman al-Sheikh’s trial will reiterate that the United States will not allow war criminals to come and live in the United States without accountability, even if their victims were not US citizens.”
The suspect was detained in July at LA International Airport on charges of immigration fraud, specifically that he denied on his US visa that he had ever persecuted anyone in Syria, according to a criminal complaint.
07:46 AM GMT
Hello and welcome to our live coverage
We’re bringing you all the latest updates from Syria in the wake of the fall of the Assad regime.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Source link
