Live Blog Update| Syria War
This is an entry from: Live: Over 100,000 bodies found in mass grave near Damascus

Evening recap

8 December 2024 00:04 GMT

Our live coverage from Syria will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning.

Events are unfolding rapidly in Syria. On Saturday alone, rebel forces seized control of several areas in the southern suburbs of Damascus, including Daraya and Moamadhia. 

The Syrian armed opposition announced it had liberated four cities—Daraa, Quneitra, Sweida, and Homs—within 24 hours. It added that its operations are ongoing to "liberate the entire Damascus countryside."

In other important developments: 

  • In Doha, the foreign ministers of Russia, Iran and Turkey have met on the sidelines of a conference to discuss the situation in Syria

  • Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that insecurity in Syria has regional consequences, emphasizing that Iran will “make every effort to ensure security and combat terrorists in Syria,” according to state news agency IRNA

  • According to Iraqi state TV, more than 1,000 Syrian soldiers crossed into Iraq's Anbar province through al-Qaim border crossing

  • Israel has reportedly threatened Syrian opposition groups against approaching its border at the Israeli occupied Golan Heights. According to the news outlet Walla, Israeli officials have communicated this message to several factions in Syria

  • Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, has stressed the need to maintain Syria's territorial integrity

  • The incoming US President Donald Trump has weighed in on the unfolding crisis in Syria, asserting that opposition fighters have made significant gains in a "highly coordinated offensive"

  • Concluding his post, Trump called for the United States to avoid any engagement in the Syrian conflict. "Syria is a mess, but is not our friend," he wrote, emphasising that the US should "LET IT PLAY OUT" and stay out of the fight. "THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!"

  • Foreign ministers from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Russia have issued a joint statement on Syria, warning that the ongoing situation is creating a "dangerous development" for the country's security