Syria updates: Assad in Russia, granted asylum — reports

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) responsible for the Middle East and other areas said its forces conducted "dozens of precision airstrikes targeting known ISIS camps and operatives in central Syria" on Sunday, using another common acronym for the so-called "Islamic State" group.

"The strikes against the ISIS leaders, operatives, and camps were conducted as part of the ongoing mission to disrupt, degrade and defeat ISIS," CENTCOM said. 

It said this was not only to prevent the terror group to conduct external operations, but also "to ensure that ISIS does not seek to take advantage of the current situation to reconstitute in central Syria."

CENTCOM said its aircraft, including F-15 combat jets, A-10 close air support planes, and the huge, high-altitude B-52 bomber, struck a total of more than 75 targets.

It said there was no preliminary indication of civilian casualties, and made no mention of combatant casualties.

"There should be no doubt — we will not allow ISIS to reconstitute and take advantage of the current situation in Syria," said General Michael Erik Kurilla. "All organizations in Syria should know that we will hold them accountable if they partner with or support ISIS in any way."

War monitors report continued fighting for control of the region and city of Manbij, as Turkish-allied rebels advance on Kurdish forces that Turkey considers terrorists but that were also key western allies in the fight against ISIS in Syria in recent years.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rebel forces had taken control of large areas of the city and that clashes were known to have killed 26 people — nine Turkish-allied rebels and 17 members of the Manbij military forces.

The military leadership of the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) holding Manbij is the YPG, a Kurdish group which Turkey considers a terrorist group with close ties to the Kurdish PKK independence movement that is outlawed in Turkey.

Reuters cited a Turkish security source, who it did not name, as saying that attacks continued by air and on land.

"The fight against the YPG/PKK is very close to victory. Both air and land interventions are ongoing to take Manbij from the hands of the YPG/PKK," the source was quoted as saying. 

He said Turkish-backed forces controlled around 80% of the Manbij region and had entered the city proper.

While Turkey sees the YPG as allied to the PKK — also labeled a terrorist group by the US — Kurdish fighters in Iraq and Syria were key allies in the US-led mission to eliminate ISIS from the area a few years ago.

Supporters of the Syrian opposition entered the the country's embassy in Athens on Sunday and hoisted an opposition flag from its roof. 

Police intervened and detained four individuals but also left the flag flying. 

In Madrid in Spain, a crowd of around 150 people chanted "freedom" as a man replaced the Syrian regime flag with that of the rebel fighters.

Several opposition supporters also gathered outside the Syrian embassy in Belgrade, Serbia, hoisting a rebel flag and also ripping up photos of Assad.

 Millions have been displaced by the years of fighting in Syria, many of them fleeing the country if they can. 

Meanwhile, in Syria, the Iranian embassy was visible damaged, with paintings of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei smashed and flags on the ground outside the building. 

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also said that rebel forces entered the residence of Italy's ambassador in Damascus on Sunday. 

He said they were looking for Assad forces and relevant documents and that they fired a few shots against the wall but did not harm the ambassador or security staff.

"They only took away three cars and that was it," Tajani said.

Jordan's King Abdullah II said on Sunday that his government "stands by its Syrian brothers and respects their will and choices" in a statement.

He urged the avoidance of any "conflict that may lead to chaos" and stressed the need to maintain security in Jordan's neighbor to the north after its security forces crumbled.

Qatar's Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, called for a political process to begin under UN Security Council Resolution 2254 —  a resolution laying out steps for a ceasefire and political transition reached at the height of Syria's civil war in 2015 that never gained purchase at the time.

The ministry said it was following developments closely and called for the preservation of Syria as a single state. 

Egypt echoed this, calling on all parties in Syria to preserve the capabilities of the state and national institutions.

Reuters news agency cited an unnamed Saudi official as saying that the country was in "constant communication" with other relevant countries.

"We have been in contact with all actors in the region. We are in constant communication with Turkey and every stakeholder involved," he was quoted as saying. 

Iraqi government spokesperson Bassem Al-Awadi said Iraq also reaffirmed the importance of not interfering in the internal affairs of Syria, or supporting one party in favor of another.

Outgoing US President Joe Biden has said that the US intends to "engage with all Syrian groups" regarding the transition of power.

Speaking from the White House, Biden said Washington would assess the statements made by the leaders of the rebel groups who led the offensive which ousted Assad. He went on to warn that some Syrian rebel groups had a "grim record of terrorism."

"We will engage with all Syrian groups, including within the process led by the United Nations, to establish a transition away from the Assad regime toward independent, sovereign" Syria "with a new constitution."

Biden credited action by Washington and its allies for weakening Assad's backers Russia, Iran and Hezbollah.

"Our approach has shifted the balance of power in the Middle East," he said, echoing earlier statements from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had called Assad's fall a "direct result of the blows we inflicted on Hezbollah."

"The US will support Syria's neighbors in the period of transition," Biden said, amid growing uncertainties in the Middle East region given Israel's war in Gaza and its shaky ceasefire in Lebanon.

He described Assad's fall as a "fundamental act of justice" while also being a "moment of risk and uncertainty."

Biden said the US was unsure of Assad's whereabouts, while acknowledging reports he was seeking asylum in Russia.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Assad's rapid fall carried with it a broader reminder applicable to the Syrian leader's backer Russia. 

"The events in Syria have made the world realize once again, or at least they should have, that even the most cruel regime may fall and that Russia and its allies can be defeated," Tusk wrote online. 

EU and NATO member Poland has been a staunch backer of Ukraine, both before and after Tusk's coalition returned to power in October 2023. It's also a crucial logistics hub for military aid to its neighbor Ukraine. 

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) war monitor said on Sunday that it had registered a total of 910 deaths since the start of the rebel operation in late November. 

The SOHR said it had "documented, since the launch of the ... [rebel] operation on November 27, 910 people killed." 

It said this tally included 138 civilians, 380 Syrian troops and allied fighters, and 392 rebels. 

The figure pointed to the minimal resistance attacking forces appear to have faced during their advance through Aleppo, Hama and Homs en route to Damascus, although the figure may also be incomplete.

By contrast, estimates vary, but most believe half a million or more have died during the entirety of Syria's civil war that began after anti-Assad protests in 2011.

Russian media outlets including news agency Tass have reported, citing unnamed Kremlin sources, that Bashar Assad is in Moscow. 

"Assad and members of his family arrived in Moscow. Russia, based on humanitarian considerations, granted them asylum," Tass quoted an unnamed Kremlin source as saying.

A spokesman for Israel's IDF military urged residents of several Syrian towns in the demilitarized buffer zone of the Golan Heights near the de facto border to stay indoors. 

"Urgent warning to the residents of southern Syria," Avichay Adraee wrote in a statement in Arabic, listing five Syrian towns in the buffer zone.

"The fighting inside your area is forcing the IDF to act and we do not intend to harm you. For your safety, you must stay at home and not go out until further notice," he wrote. 

Defense Minister Israel Katz had earlier said that IDF troops had seized a "buffer zone and control points to ensure the protection of all Israeli communities in the Golan Heights — Jewish and Druze — so that they are not exposed to the threats from the other side." 

He said the military took this step after Syrian troops abandoned their positions amid the regime collapse.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said "the cruel Assad dictatorship has collapsed" in a response online, but also offered a note of caution. 

"This historic change in the region offers opportunities but is not without risks," she said. 

"Europe is ready to support safeguarding national unity and rebuilding a Syrian state that protects all minorities," she said. 

Assad is an Alawite, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, and not a member of the majority Sunni Muslim population in Syria. Around three-quarters of Syria's population are Sunnis, but the country has meaningful Shiite, Druze and Christian minority populations.

HTS's leaders have pledged to ensure all minorities are respected under a new regime, but some observers have concerns about the offshoot of an al-Qaeda branch.

Von der Leyen said that officials in Brussels were "engaging with European and regional leaders and monitoring developments."

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha focused on Russia's role, or rather its reduced role in Syria amid its invasion of Ukraine, when responding to Assad's fall. 

"Assad has fallen," Sybiha said online. "This is how it has always been and will always be for dictators who bet on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. He always betrays those who rely on him." 

Russian backing, particularly from the skies, had contributed considerably to Assad's forces reclaiming control of the bulk of the war torn country in recent years. 

But Russia's military footprint in Syria has reduced amid its invasion of Ukraine. 

Ukraine's Sybiha called for all efforts to be made "to stabilize the region and ensure inclusive political dialogue in Syria for the sake of effectively functioning state institutions." 

"We express our readiness to pave the way to restoring relations in the future and reaffirm support for the Syrian people," he concluded. 

Assad's Syria had cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine in July 2022, a few months after the war with Russia began.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for all sides to protect Syrian civilians and ensure aid can reach those in need after Assad's sudden fall. 

"The developments in Syria in recent hours and days are unprecedented, and we are speaking to our partners in the region and monitoring the situation closely," Starmer said. 

"The Syrian people have suffered under Assad's barbaric regime for too long and we welcome his departure. Our focus is now on ensuring a political solution prevails and stability is restored," he said.

Starmer also joined several other world leaders in urging all sides to "protect civilians and minorities," as well as ensuring that "essential aid can reach the most vulnerable in the coming hours and days." 

The head of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Islamist group, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, said that there is no room for turning back after the fall of Bashar Assad's regime.

"The future is ours and we are moving toward victory," al-Golani said in a statement read on Syrian state TV, after arriving in the capital Damascus.

Videos shared on social media purportedly showed al-Golani kneeling down upon arriving in Damascus.

"We continue to work with determination to achieve the goals of our revolution... We are determined to complete the path we started in 2011," he said.

Syria descended into civil war after a brutal government crackdown on the 2011 pro-democracy protests.

While the war had been considered "frozen" for years, rebel groups made significant advances in a lightning offensive in recent days and then ousted Assad on Sunday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that Ankara would help ensure Syria's "unity, integrity and security" following Bashar Assad's ouster.

"Turkey is ready to take responsibility for all that is necessary to heal Syria's wounds and guarantee its unity, integrity and security," Fidan said.

"We will further intensify our work on this matter with countries in the region and with international actors in the coming days," he said.

Fidan said that he hoped millions of Syrians who were forced to flee the country would be able to return home. Turkey has taken in some 3.5 million Syrian refugees.

In earlier comments at a press conference in Doha, Qatar, Fidan called for Syria's opposition to remain united and warned against a "desire for revenge."

Turkey has launched several military incursions into northern Syria throughout the civil war in order to push back the Kurdish YPG militia, which Ankara considers to be a terrorist organization.