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

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates from Syria:

• The Israeli army has launched over 60 strikes on Syria since the morning, bringing the total to 800 Israeli attacks on the country over the past week.
   
• After destroying roads, water networks and power lines in southern Syria's Quneitra, the Israeli army is reportedly asking dignitaries and mayors in the occupied Golan Heights to collect weapons seized from abandoned Syrian government positions.
   
• Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that one-third of Lebanon's population of 5.8 million are Syrian refugees, calling for them to return to their country.
   
• Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler said his country was ready to offer military to Syria's new administration should it request it.

Good evening, Middle East Eye readers,

It is 3am in Damascus, and here are some of the latest developments unfolding in Syria:

• Israel launched over 60 air strikes on Syrian territory on Saturday evening, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

• Syrian rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known as Abu Mohammed Jolani, said on Saturday that he is not interested in engaging in new conflicts, despite Israel's seizure of a buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights and its air force pummelling Syrian military positions with air strikes.

• The Turkish flag was raised at its embassy in Damascus as it was reopened after 12 years.

• Israeli army chief of staff Herzi Halevi told troops in the occupied Golan Heights that the military is "not intervening" in Syria.

• Reuters is reporting, citing senior Syrian officials, that the Russian military is pulling back its military from posts in the Alawite Mountains in northern Syria. According to the sources, Moscow will be retaining its its two main bases in the country - the Hmeimim airbase in Latakia and the Tartous naval facility.

• Lebanese PM Najib Mikati has called on Syrian refugees who fled to Lebanon to return home.

• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed on Saturday that Washington has been in “direct contact” with HTS. He added that the easing of US sanctions on Syria would depend on “sustained action” by the group.

•  Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministers have demanded that Israel pull out of a demilitarised zone along the border with Syria.

• The Arab Ministerial Contact group on Syria has committed to supporting a peaceful and Syrian-led political transition. The group also criticised Israel's incursions into Syria and its breaking of various agreements brokered between the two countries.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is reporting that Israel has launched 61 fresh air strikes on Syrian territory in the last few hours.

The head of Syria's Civil defence, also known as the White Helmets, Raeed al-Salah, has vowed to hold ousted President Bashar al-Assad accountable for crimes and violations committed during his rule.

“Today, I promise you from in front of the Palace of Justice, not from anywhere else, to work with all legal institutions to hold the head of the regime accountable after all these violations,” Salah said in a video address to the families of the victims and survivors of Assad's regime in front of the Palace of Justice in Damascus.

A message from the head of the White Helmets, Raed Al Saleh, in front of the Palace of Justice in #Damascus, to the families of victims and survivors.#WhiteHelmets #Syria pic.twitter.com/zYKrlph9qZ

— The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) December 14, 2024

Syrian rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known as Abu Mohammed Jolani, said on Saturday that he is not interested in engaging in new conflicts, despite Israel's seizure of a buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights and its air force pummelling Syrian military positions with air strikes.

In a post on Telegram, Jolani said that Israel's actions had "clearly crossed the disengagement line in Syria, which threatens a new unjustified escalation in the region".

But, he added that “the general exhaustion in Syria after years of war and conflict does not allow us to enter new conflicts”.

The International Committee of the Red Cross in Syria (ICRC) has been supporting a team of engineers carrying out "urgent assessments" and maintenance work to the Tishreen Dam, a critical dam which supplies drinking water and electricity to eastern Syria.

The new Syrian government has taken control of the site, which was previously controlled by Kurdish SDF fighters with support from the US. 

In an agreement with all parties @ICRC_Sy jointly with @SYRedCrescent, has been supporting engineers at General Oraganization of Euphrates Dam (GEOD) since yesterday in carrying out some urgent assessment & maintenance of Tishreen dam to ensure it continues to operate safely. pic.twitter.com/A2nf87Lq4M

— ICRC Syria (@ICRC_sy) December 14, 2024

Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati has called on Syrian refugees in Lebanon to "go back to their homeland".

Speaking at a Rome political festival, Mikati said that Lebanon is home to the largest number of refugees per capita.

"The strain on our resources has been substantial, worsening existing economic trouble and creating fierce competition for jobs and services,” he said, adding that the "best resolution" is for Syrians to return home.

About 1.5m Syrians sought refuge in Lebanon after the 2011 civil war, according to the UN refugee agency.

Israeli arm chief Herzi Halevi has said that Israel has "no intention of managing Syria".

Halevi told troops in the occupied Golan Heights that the military is "not intervening in what is happening in Syria".

“We are unequivocally intervening in what determines the security of Israeli citizens here, behind us in the communities of the Golan Heights, and we are doing that professionally and correctly, and we are doing it with determination," he said.

Reuters is reporting that Russia is pulling back its military from posts in the Alawite Mountains in northern Syria.

Four Syrian officials told the news site that while Moscow is pulling back its presence from the front lines in the region, it is retaining its two main bases in the country - the Hmeimim airbase in Latakia and the Tartous naval facility.

Following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, who had forged close ties with Moscow, the future of the bases has been thrown into question.

A senior Syrian army officer in contact with the Russian military told Reuters that some equipment is being shipped back to Moscow, along with very senior officers from Assad's army, adding that the aim at this stage is to regroup and redeploy according to developments on the ground.

A senior rebel official told the news site that Russia's military presence in Syria is not currently being discussed by the new interim administration, adding that it "is a matter for future talks and the Syrian people will have the final say".

Reporting by Reuters

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem has said that he hopes the new Syrian government will consider Israel an "enemy" and not normalise ties with it.

In a televised address, Qassem pointed to Israel's seizure of a buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights as "evidence" that Syria is facing "a dangerous expansionist enemy".

He added that he hoped for “cooperation between the peoples and governments in Syria and Lebanon”.

Jordan's Foreign Minister vowed to “stand by the people of Syria… in their upcoming phase of rebuilding following decades of killing, destruction and displacement”.

Speaking at a news conference following a meeting with eight Arab foreign ministers in Jordan, Ayman Safadi said : “Our message is clear. We all stand by the side of the Syrian people and we will do all that is in our power to help them build a better future towards a stable, secure life which they have been lacking and wanting for decades".

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that Washington has had direct contact with rebel faction Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the offensive that overthrew Syria's President Bashar al-Assad.

Speaking after meeting the foreign ministers of Arab nations and Turkey in Jordan, Blinken said a joint communique had been agreed that sets out the principles that other nations want to see followed in Syria's political transition, including inclusivity and respect for minorities.

Reporting by Reuters

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem has said that the group has lost its supply route through Syria since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad.

In a televised address, Qassem said it was too early for the group to make a judgement on Syria's new government.

The Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministers have demanded that Israel pull out of a demilitarised zone along the border with Syria.

The two were speaking at a joint press conference in Jordan.

Reporting by Reuters

Good evening, Middle East Eye readers,

It is 7 PM in Damascus, and here are some of the latest developments unfolding in Syria:

• Syrians toppled the statue of Hafez al-Assad, the father of Bashar al-Assad and the founder of the Assad family's decades-long rule over Syria, in the capital city of Damascus.
• Diplomats from the United States, Turkey, the European Union and various Arab nations met in Jordan to discuss Syria as powers scramble for influence in the country.
• The Arab Ministerial Contact group on Syria has committed to supporting a peaceful and Syrian-led political transition. The group also criticised Israel's incursions into Syria and its breaking of various agreements brokered between the two countries.
• Syria's pound has also strengthened against the dollar by 20 percent since Bashar al-Assad's fall.
• Senior United Arab Emirates official Anwar Gargash said the UAE was concerned by the rebel group's "Islamist affiliation" and its affiliation to the (Muslim) Brotherhood and al-Qaeda".
• Syrian officials said Russia had begun pulling back from its frontlines in northern Syria and posts in the Alawite mountains and concentrating its arms and military hardware in two naval bases. It remains unclear whether Russia will completely withdraw from Syria, but at least one cargo plane has flown out on Saturday to Libya, said a Syrian security official stationed outside its base.
• Turkey has opened its embassy in Damascus for the first time in 12 years and raised the Turkish flag.