Live: Over 100,000 bodies found in mass grave near Damascus

The Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) is on the offensive against the Kurdish-led SDF, a US partner force. 

The SDF pulled out of the strategic city of Manbij on Wednesday and  US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit Ankara on Friday to contain the Turkish offensive. 

But Turkey is looking past the Biden administration, experts tell Middle East Eye and aims to strengthen its position in northeast Syria during Donald Trump’s presidency by undermining the SDF as much as possible.

"There is a sense that the Americans are seeking a grand bargain to resolve the SDF issue. But Blinken and others only have one month left in office, so any deal must be negotiated with the incoming Trump administration. The new Syria increasingly appears united, and autonomy for a few million people in the country seems unlikely," Murat Yesiltas, a senior expert at the Ankara-based think tank Seta, told MEE. 

Read More: US rushes to contain Turkey-backed offensive against SDF in Syria

A US MQ-9 Reaper drone was accidentally shot down over northern Syria on Monday by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, according to CNN.

The report says the Kurdish-led SDF thought the drone was Turkish amid chaotic fighting with Turkish-backed militias. 

Syria's transitional government must be more inclusive, the UN said on Wednesday, emphasising the need to bring in different parties and communities to avoid new civil strife. 

"My biggest concern is that the transition will create new contradictions in the manner that could lead to new civil strife and potentially a new civil war," the UN's envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, told the AFP. 

Ukrainian intelligence sent about 20 drone operators and about 150 first-person-view drones to Idlib, Syria, to assist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), in its offensive, according to a report by the Washington Post.

The drone operators were sent to Syria four to five weeks before the offensive that toppled the Assad government. 

The report says the deployment was "part of a broader Ukrainian effort to strike covertly at Russian operations in the Middle East, Africa and inside Russia". 

According to the Washington Post report, US officials denied knowledge of the Ukrainian deployment. 

The US State Department confirms Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be heading to Jordan and Turkey to discuss efforts to secure a captives exchange deal in Gaza and advance a peaceful transition in Syria.

"He will discuss the need for the transition process and new government in Syria to respect the rights of minorities, facilitate the flow of humanitarian assistance, prevent Syria from being used as a base of terrorism or posing a threat to its neighbors, and ensure that chemical weapons stockpiles are secured and safely destroyed," a US readout says.

"He will also discuss the urgent need to conclude a ceasefire agreement in Gaza that secures the release of hostages, facilitate additional humanitarian assistance to vulnerable Palestinian civilians, and continue to implement the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah."

Independent MP Adnan Hussain has slammed the British government's announcement that it is suspending all Syrian asylum claims because the Assad dynasty was toppled in Syria.

Hussain, who was elected to parliament in July and is one of five members of the parliamentary Independent Alliance, told Middle East Eye the Labour government's move is "dangerous". 

"The removal of Syria's tyrannical dictator is a welcome step for the Syrian people to now be given an opportunity at hopefully building a democratic and pluralistic state," he said.

But Hussain added that the situation in Syria remains "uncertain, and no doubt dangerous".

READ MORE: Independent MP Adnan Hussain calls UK pause on Syrian asylum decisions 'dangerous'

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday during a visit to South Africa that there were some signs of hope from the end of the Syrian dictatorship.

Guterres added after meeting South Africa's foreign minister Ronald Lamola that the United Nations was totally committed to a smooth transition of power in Syria.

"I fully trust Syrian people to be able to choose their own destiny," Guterres said.

Israel must withdraw forces from the buffer zone separating the annexed Golan Heights from Syrian territory, France's foreign ministry said Wednesday.

"Any military deployment in the separation zone between Israel and Syria is a violation of the disengagement agreement of 1974... France calls on Israel to withdraw from the zone and to respect Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity," a foreign ministry spokesman said.

Reporting by AFP

The Israeli army has reportedly launched at least 310 air strikes into Syria, targeting critical military infrastructure since the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad early on Sunday.

Within 48 hours, the Israeli military estimated that it had destroyed around 80 percent of the Syrian army’s strategic capabilities, leading one expert to say it is now "a de facto demilitarised country".

Meanwhile, Israeli troops seized areas of a demilitarised buffer zone previously in the Syrian army’s control, including the strategically placed Mount Hermon - which Syrians call Jebel al-Sheikh - just 40km from Damascus.

READ MORE: Hundreds of strikes, warships sunk, tanks on Syrian soil: How Israel reacted to Assad's fall

Germany's foreign minister on Wednesday urged Israel and Turkey not to jeopardise a peaceful transition in Syria after the ousting of president Bashar al-Assad in an Islamist-led rebel offensive.

"We must not allow the internal Syrian dialogue process to be torpedoed from the outside," Annalena Baerbock told a Berlin press conference. 

"Neighbours such as the Turkish and Israeli governments, which are asserting their security interests, must not jeopardise the process."

Reporting by AFP

Like a bird that has just flown its cage, Ahmad rides on his motorbike, navigating every small road in Homs. The tears on his face are not only the result of cold wind - but also of joy. For he is not only rejoicing the fall of the authoritarian regime of the Assad family, but also finally enjoying the fresh change of scenery after seven years of what might be fairly described as house arrest.

Like hundreds of thousands of young men who were subject to the compulsory military draft, his movement was confined to an area of less than two sq km around his parental home, where he lives, to avoid being pulled at a security check and sucked into the "service". 

The service was, until Bashar al-Assad was toppled, one of the most dreaded fates a Syrian could meet. Under Assad, the connotations of that service meant that young men were set against their own kin; if you were a soldier, the chances were you would be ordered to kill one of your own, anytime the superiors decided to label him or her an enemy.

READ MORE: Syrians have flown the cage. We must not lose our freedom again

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, stated that occupied Syrian land would be reclaimed by Syrian youth and vowed that the United States would be expelled from the region.

He criticised negligence by Syrian authorities, claiming they ignored warnings from Iranian intelligence. Khamenei also reaffirmed Iran’s role in supporting Syria, highlighting the sacrifices of Iranian "defenders of the shrine."

The mausoleum of Hafez al-Assad, the late Syrian president and father of Bashar al-Assad, was set on fire in Qardaha, the family’s ancestral hometown, according to AFP.

Videos circulating on social media showed flames engulfing parts of the tomb, which has long been a symbol of the Assad family's dominance in Syria. 

Dozens of Syrians entered the residence of former President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus after his departure, experiencing a mix of defiance and curiosity, according to an AFP report.

Abu Omar, 44, expressed his emotions while exploring the luxurious home. “I am taking pictures because I am so happy to be here in the middle of his house,” he told AFP, showing photos stored on his mobile phone. He added, “I came for revenge. They oppressed us in incredible ways.”

The residence, located in the affluent al-Maliki neighbourhood, consists of three six-story buildings and had long symbolised the authority of al-Assad’s regime.

Umm Nader, 35, who visited the compound with her husband, said she wanted to see a place that had been off-limits to ordinary Syrians. “I came to see this place that we were banned from because they wanted us to live in poverty and deprivation,” she said.

The home, once shrouded in fear and secrecy, now serves as a reminder of the Assads' rule as citizens explore its opulence.

Iran’s embassy in Syria has dismissed allegations that $42m allocated by Tehran for activities in Syria and Lebanon was stolen.

"There were no assets or funds inside the Iranian embassy building in Syria at the time of its breach," the embassy stated, as reported by state news agency IRNA.

The statement added, "All measures had been taken prior to the evacuation, and the claim of $42 million being stolen is merely a rumour spread by seditionists for domestic purposes in Iran."