Idlib

Syria’s new leadership appointed a foreign minister, as reported today by the official Syrian news agency SANA, as part of their efforts to develop international relations two weeks after ousting Bashar al-Assad.

The leader of Syria's Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that headed a lightning rebel offensive snatching Damascus from government control, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, address a crowd at the capital's landmark Umayyad Mosque on Dec.8, 2024.

Chief of General Staff Gen. Metin Gürak held phone discussions on Dec. 8 with NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, Gen. Christopher Cavoli, and the U.K.'s Chief of Defense Staff, Adm. Tony Radakin, to address the rapidly evolving situation in Syria.

With Sunday's collapse of Syria's Baath regime and the end of the Assad family era, Syrians were seen toppling statues of Hafez al-Assad, the late father of ousted President Bashar al-Assad, in various cities across the country.

Rebels, led by the Islamist faction Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), have made significant advances toward the city of Homs in central Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The insurgents are now within 5 km of the city's outskirts, after capturing key towns like Rastan and Talbisseh, which are located along the vital M5 highway that links Homs to Damascus and the north.

Syrian rebels intensified their offensive against the Assad regime, advancing toward Hama City and capturing over 20 towns and villages in the surrounding areas. Among the areas seized were Taybat al-Imam, Halfaya, and Rahbat Khattab, marking significant progress on the western and northern axes of the city.

Nearly 50,000 people have recently been displaced in Syria, where opposition forces have wrested swathes of territory from control of President Bashar al-Assad's government, the U.N.'s humanitarian agency has reported.

The Syrian military and its ally Russia conducted deadly joint air raids on areas under the control of opposition forces on Monday, with the Syrian opposition army continuing its operation in Tel Rifaat.

Jihadists and rebels have seized most of Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city, including its airport, during a lightning assault that left over 320 people dead, a monitoring group reported on Saturday, as the international community voiced concern.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has engaged in a series of diplomatic calls with regional counterparts to address escalating conflicts in Gaza and Syria.

Fidan spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to discuss the situation in Syria, where Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other anti-regime factions launched a large-scale offensive on Nov. 27.