Live: Russia is pulling its military back – not out – of Syria, sources say

Rebel leader says Syria too exhausted for conflict with Israel

The leader of the Islamist-led rebels who seized power in Damascus criticised Israel on Saturday for its incursion into southern Syria this week but said his country was too exhausted for fresh conflict.

Israeli troops entered the UN-patrolled buffer zone that separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights last weekend in a move the United Nations said violated the 1974 armistice agreement.

"The Israelis have clearly crossed the disengagement line in Syria, which threatens a new unjustified escalation in the region," said the leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, who is now using his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa. 

But he added in a statement on the rebels' Telegram channel that "the general exhaustion in Syria after years of war and conflict does not allow us to enter new conflicts."

Israel, which has occupied most of the strategic plateau since 1974, said it acted in self-defence in the face of the political uncertainty in its northeastern neighbour.

Hezbollah chief says group lost its supply route through Syria

Hezbollah head Naim Qassem said on Saturday that the Lebanese armed group had lost its supply route through Syria following the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad nearly a week ago by a sweeping rebel offensive.

Qassem did not mention Assad by name in his televised address, and said the group could not make a judgment on Syria's new ruling power until the country stabilises.

Hezbollah warns new Syria rulers against normalising ties with Israel

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said on Saturday that Syria's new rulers, who ousted the Lebanese armed group's ally Bashar al-Assad, should not recognise neighbouring Israel or establish ties with it.

"We hope that this new party in power will see Israel as an enemy and not normalise relations with it," Qassem said in a televised speech, his first public remarks since Islamist-led rebels toppled Assad following an offensive launched on November 27, the same day that a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect.

Egypt, Jordan say Israel must pull out of demilitarized zone in Syria

The foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan on Saturday demanded that Israel pull out of a demilitarized zone along the border with Syria.

They were speaking in a joint press conference in Jordan.

Blinken says US has made 'direct contact' with Syria's victorious HTS rebels

The United States has made "direct contact" with Syria's victorious Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels despite designating the group as terrorists, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday.

"We've been in contact with HTS and with other parties," Blinken told reporters after talks on Syria in Jordan, without specifying how it took place.

Blinken says Jordan talks agree on need for 'inclusive and representative' Syrian government

Arab, Western and Turkish diplomats agreed in talks in Jordan Saturday on the need for an "inclusive" government in Syria following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. 

Blinken told reporters that the talks would issue a joint statement in which "we agreed that the transition process should be Syrian-led and Syrian-owned and produce an inclusive and representative government".

Turkey reopens Damascus embassy after Assad's fall

Turkey on Saturday reopened its embassy in Damascus after a 12-year closure, a week after rebels toppled longtime leader Bashar al-Assad, an AFP journalist said.

The Turkish flag was raised over the diplomatic mission in the presence of the new charge d'affairs Burhan Koroglu, the journalist said.

Representatives of the rebels' transitional government were present at the ceremony at the embassy in the capital's Rawda district, which also hosts other diplomatic missions.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Friday that Koroglu and staff had left for Damascus and the embassy would be "operational" the following day.

The Damascus embassy closed on March 26, 2012, a year after Syria's civil war began, due to the deteriorating security situation amid calls by the Turkish government for Assad to step down.

Arab FMs urge support for 'peaceful' Syria transition

Top diplomats from eight Arab countries, meeting in Jordan on Saturday, called for a peaceful transition in Syria with UN and Arab League support following Bashar al-Assad's ouster.

In a final statement after the talks in the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba, foreign ministers from Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar said they had agreed to "support a peaceful transition process" in Syria, "in which all political and social forces are represented".

The foreign ministers, meeting in Aqaba in the presence of Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said the political process in Syria should be supported by "the United Nations and the Arab League, in accordance with the principles of Security Council Resolution 2254" of 2015, which set out a roadmap for a negotiated settlement.

The Arab diplomats also declared their backing for a transitional rule agreed upon by Syrians, which would enable "a political system that corresponds to the aspirations of all parts of the Syrian people, through free and fair elections overseen by the United Nations".

Russia pulling back but not out of Syria, sources say

Russia is pulling back its military from the front lines in northern Syria and from posts in the Alawite Mountains but is not leaving its two main bases in the country after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, four Syrian officials told Reuters.

The ousting of Assad, who along with his late father, former President Hafez al-Assad, had forged a close alliance with Moscow, has thrown the future of Russia's bases - the Hmeimim airbase in Latakia and the Tartous naval facility - into question.

Satellite footage from Friday shows what appeared to be at least two Antonov AN-124s, among the world's largest cargo planes, at the Hmeimim base with their nose cones open, apparently preparing to load up. At least one cargo plane flew out on Saturday for Libya, a Syrian security official stationed outside the facility said.

Syrian military and security sources in contact with the Russians told Reuters that Moscow was pulling back its forces from the front lines and withdrawing some heavy equipment and senior Syrian officers. But the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, said Russia was not pulling out of its two main bases and currently had no intention of doing so.

Syria war monitor says IS group kills several shepherds

A war monitor said Islamic State group jihadists killed six shepherds on Saturday in an area of the Syrian Desert notorious for extremist attacks.

"Six shepherds were killed on Saturday morning by fighters from Islamic State group cells... south of the city of Palmyra," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The jihadists "killed the shepherds and stole their livestock", the Britain-based war monitor added.

IS overran large swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014, proclaiming a "caliphate" and launching a reign of terror.

The Observatory said it had recorded six IS group attacks in the Syrian Desert since Assad's overthrow. They killed 18 civilians and more than 50 Assad troops who had abandoned their posts.

Syrians visit Bashar al-Assad's summer residence

The huge residences of the Assad family are the symbol of the Syrian regime.

Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad a week ago, Syrians have been entering places of power and homes that they had never been able to approach before.

UAE official says new Syria leaders' Islamist ties are 'worrying'

A senior UAE official said on Saturday that his government had concerns about the Islamist affiliation of the forces that ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

"We hear some reasonable, rational language about unity, not imposing a system on all Syrians. On the other hand, the nature of the new forces, the affiliation with the (Muslim) Brotherhood, the affiliation with Al-Qaeda, I think these are all indicators that are quite worrying," said Anwar Gargash, a presidential adviser in the United Arab Emirates, in remarks at the World Policy Conference in Abu Dhabi.

How will women fare in a new Syria?

While Syrians are celebrating the fall of Bashar al-Assad, the country's future is far from certain. And with Islamist-led rebels working to determine what form the next government will take, the need to protect women's rights in a country traumatised by decades of dictatorial rule remains an urgent concern.

Syria war monitor reports Israeli strikes on military sites

A Syria war monitor said Israel launched strikes early Saturday targeting military sites in Damascus and its countryside, in the latest such raids since Islamist rebels brought down Bashar al-Assad almost a week ago.

"Israeli strikes destroyed a scientific institute" and other related military facilities in Barzeh, in northern Damascus, and targeted a "military airport" in the capital's countryside, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Strikes also targeted "Scud ballistic missile warehouses" and launchers in the Qalamun area, as well as "rockets, depots and tunnels under the mountain", according to the Britain-based Observatory, which has a network of sources inside Syria.

The Observatory said several rounds of bombardment targeted "military sites of the former regime forces, as part of destroying what is left of the future Syrian army's capabilities".

Head of international chemical weapons watchdog wants access to Syria's stockpiles

The head of the international chemical weapons watchdog said on Thursday he would ask Syria's new leaders to grant investigators access to the country to continue work identifying perpetrators of attacks that killed and injured thousands during the civil war. The Assad regime was accused of targeting civilians with repeated sarin gas attacks.

Turkey to reopen embassy in Syria as diplomats gather for talks

Turkey was set to reopen its embassy in Damascus on Saturday, nearly a week after president Bashar al-Assad was toppled by forces backed by Ankara, and 12 years after the diplomatic outpost was shuttered early in Syria's civil war.

Ankara has been a major player in Syria's conflict, holding considerable sway in the northwest and financing armed groups there, and maintaining a working relationship with the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which spearheaded the offensive that brought down Assad.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the new charge d'affaires, Burhan Koroglu, left for Syria on Friday, with the embassy expected to be "operational" the following day.

Fidan also said Ankara had urged Assad backers Russia and Iran not to intervene as the Islamist-led rebels mounted their lightning advance last week.

"The most important thing was to talk to the Russians and Iranians to ensure that they didn't enter the equation militarily ... They understood," Fidan told private television network NTV.

UN envoy warns against Syria collapse at crisis talks

A UN envoy on Saturday urged foreign powers to work to avoid a collapse of vital Syrian institutions following the downfall of leader Bashar al-Assad, as diplomats gathered in Jordan for a conference on the crisis.

Geir Pedersen, the UN's special envoy for Syria, also backed a "credible and inclusive" political process to form the next government as he met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"We need to make sure that state institutions do not collapse, and that we get in humanitarian assistance as quickly as possible," Pedersen said.

"If we can achieve that, perhaps there is a new opportunity for the Syrian people."

Russian cargo plane departs Syria for Libya, more flights expected, official says

A Russian cargo plane departed from Russia's air base in the Syrian port city of Latakia for Libya on Saturday, a Syrian security official stationed outside the facility said, following rebels' overthrow of president Bashar al-Assad last weekend.

The official told Reuters that additional Russian departures from the Hmeimim air base in Syria's coastal Latakia province were expected in the coming days.

Increased activity has been observed at the air base throughout the day. In addition to the departing cargo plane, an Ilyushin II-76 cargo plane and an Alligator helicopter were seen landing at the base.

Helicopters were also seen flying within the base, and a SU-34 jet landed for refueling. A Zeppelin hovered overhead, and two trucks carrying Russian flags were seen traveling within the base.