Damascus

January 3, 2025 1:01 PM

German, French foreign ministers to meet Syria’s new rulers in Damascus

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is travelling to Syria for a one-day trip with her French counterpart on behalf of the EU, where she will meet Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of Syria's new rulers, the German foreign ministry said on Friday. "My trip today - together with my French counterpart and on behalf of the EU - is a clear signal to the Syrians: A new political beginning between Europe and Syria, between Germany and Syria, is possible," Baerbock said, according to a ministry statem...

December 20, 2024 11:32 AM

Top US officials in Damascus to meet new Syrian rulers, State Department says

Top diplomats from the Biden administration are in Damascus on Friday to meet new Syrian authorities led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a State Department spokesperson said, the first in-person and official meeting between Washington and Syria's de-facto new rulers. The State Department's top Middle East diplomat Barbara Leaf, Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens and newly appointed Senior Advisor Daniel Rubinstein, who is now tasked with leading the Department's Syria engageme...

December 18, 2024 1:18 PM

Syrian mass graves expose “machinery of death” under Assad, top prosecutor says

An international war crimes prosecutor said on Tuesday that evidence emerging from mass grave sites in Syria has exposed a state-run "machinery of death" under toppled leader Bashar al-Assad in which he estimated more than 100,000 people were tortured and murdered since 2013. Speaking after visiting two mass grave sites in the towns of Qutayfah and Najha near Damascus, former U.S. war crimes ambassador at large Stephen Rapp told Reuters: "We certainly have more than 100,000 people that were dis...

December 10, 2024 3:10 PM

Israeli troops near Damascus, say Syrian security, after Israeli airstrikes hit Syrian bases

An Israeli military incursion into Syria has reached about 25 km (16 miles) southwest of Damascus, Syrian security sources said on Tuesday, after Israel seized a buffer zone in southern Syria and launched air strikes on Syrian army and air bases overnight. Israel's military operation into Syria comes two days after the lightning overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad by a rebel alliance left Syrians, regional countries and world powers nervous about what comes next. A Syrian security source sa...

April 5, 2024 9:49 AM

India expresses concern over air strike on Iranian embassy in Syria, asks Israel to ensure safety of Indians

India has expressed concern over the Israeli attack on Iran's embassy complex in Syria's capital Damascus on April 1. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in the weekly press conference on Thursday that India is angry over the deteriorating security situation in West Asia. This may increase violence and instability in the area. All concerned parties must follow international rules and regulations. Several commanders of Iran's Revolutionary Guard were killed in the recent attack. C...

September 16, 2024 5:03 PM

Iran vows response to deadly attack on consulate in Damascus

In the aftermath of a devastating attack on Iran's consulate in Damascus, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has confirmed the tragic loss of seven of its officials, including senior commanders Mohammed Reza Zahedi and Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, CNN reported. The attack, which rocked the Syrian capital, has left Iran reeling and vowing a robust response. According to an official statement from the IRGC, the slain commanders were among those who perished in the assault. Haji Rahimi, de...