Totalitarianism

A Syrian "revolutionary" flag is seen on a Syrian Air airplane ahead of take-off as the airport reopens for internal flights in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024.

The first flight since the ouster of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad took off on Wednesday from Damascus airport to Aleppo in the country's north, AFP journalists saw.

A UN refugee agency official has said that some 1 million Syrian refugees are expected to return to the country in the first six months of 2025, asking states to refrain from forcing them to do so.

A man who was filmed by CNN being released by rebels from a Damascus prison was a former intelligence officer of the ousted Syrian regime, according to local residents, and not an ordinary civilian who had been imprisoned, as he had claimed, the US media outlet said, which essentially admits its mistake.

Former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has issued his first public statement since his regime was toppled earlier this month. Shared via the Syrian presidency's Telegram channel, Assad defended his leadership and claimed he never intended to leave Syria, asserting that his departure occurred only after rebel forces overtook Damascus.

Ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad said he had no plans to leave the country and wanted to keep fighting, but the Russian military evacuated him after their base in western Syria came under attack.

The comments are the first by Assad since he was overthrown by the rebel groups on Dec. 8.

A team of Turkish rescuers began an in-depth search of Syria's infamous Saydnaya prison on Dec. 16, a spokesman for Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) has announced.

Located just north of Damascus, the prison has become a symbol of the rights abuses of the Assad clan, especially since the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011.

Syria’s central bank, under Bashar al-Assad, airlifted some $250 million in cash to Moscow between 2018 and 2019, a period during which the Syrian dictator’s regime was utterly dependent on Russian military support.

The government is closely following developments in Syria, concerned about the prevailing uncertainty and Turkey's seeming expansion of its regional influence.

Syria's stability is of critical importance for both its region and the wider world, Türkiye's foreign minister said on Saturday, calling for "an orderly, inclusive, and Syrian-led transition process."