Syrians celebrated the end of more than half a century of brutal rule by the Assad regime on Friday as tens of thousands of people took to the streets throughout the country. Read our liveblog to see how the day's events unfolded.
This liveblog is no longer being updated. For more coverage on the situation in Syria, click here.
This liveblog is no longer being updated. For more coverage on the situation in Syria, click here.
Turkey says it told Russia, Iran not to intervene militarily in Syria rebel push
Turkey said Friday it had urged Russia and Iran not to intervene militarily to support Bashar al-Assad’s forces as Islamist-led rebels mounted their lightning advance on Damascus that ended with the Syrian strongman’s ouster.
“The most important thing was to talk to the Russians and Iranians to ensure that they didn’t enter the equation militarily. We had meetings with (them) and they understood,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Turkey’s private NTV television.
He said if Moscow and Tehran, both key Assad allies since the start of the civil war in 2011, had come to the Syrian president’s aid, the rebels could still have won but the outcome could have been far more violent.
Turkey's embassy in Damascus to reopen Saturday, minister says
Turkey’s embassy in Damascus will resume work on Saturday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday, adding the diplomatic delegation headed to Syria.
“We want to see a terror-free Syria, where minorities are not mistreated. We want an inclusive government in Syria,” he said in an interview broadcast live on NTV broadcaster on Friday.
The number of Syrians in Turkey returning to their country will gradually increase as Syria stabilises, the minister said.
Syrian clerics in former Assad stronghold call for national unity, democracy
Thousands gathered in northwestern Syria on Friday for weekly prayers and a rally where clerics in the port city of Latakia, a former stronghold of ousted President Bashar al-Assad, urged national unity under
the country's new government.
"Freedom forever despite Assad," some in the crowd at the square outside Al-Ajjan mosque chanted, along with "God is greatest" and "One, one, one, Syrian people are one".
US flies freed American Travis Timmerman out of Syria, official says
The US military has flown American citizen Travis Timmerman out of Syria, where he was imprisoned before being released by rebels this week, a US official said on Friday.
Timmerman went missing in June, according to his parents. He was freed from prison earlier in the week after Syrian rebel groups ousted the country's longtime president Bashar al-Assad over the weekend.
Syrians celebrate the demise of Assad's regime as thousands freed from prison
Syrians took to the streets throughout the country on Friday, with the demise of Assad's regime meaning thousands of prisoners were freed.
FRANCE 24's James André reports from Damascus, after visiting the Palestine Detention Centre in the city centre.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday caution is needed regarding Syria’s prospects after the end of Bashar al-Assad’s rule and that the country requires “credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governance on behalf of all Syrians”.
“Discussing the unfolding situation in Syria, the Prime Minister said that the fall of Assad’s brutal regime should be welcomed, but we must be cautious about what comes next,” a spokesperson for Starmer said after the prime minister took part in a call with other Group of Seven leaders.
Qatari delegation to meet Syria's interim government on Sunday, Qatari official says
Qatar will send its first official delegation to Damascus on Sunday to meet Syria’s interim government and discuss reopening Qatar’s embassy and enhancing humanitarian aid delivery, a Qatari official told Reuters on Friday.
Previous reports by Syria’s information ministry about a visit by Qatar’s intelligence chief on Thursday were untrue, the Qatari official said
Festive atmosphere in Syria's second city, Aleppo
France 24's Andrew Hilliar reported from Syria’s second city, Aleppo, where there was a festive and relaxed atmosphere as people gathered in the city's main square.
Syria faces huge task of documenting scale of the Assad regime’s crimes
Bashar al-Assad had maintained his father Hafez al-Assad's repressive regime, where any form of dissent could lead to imprisonment.
This unrelenting repression reached its peak in the aftermath of the Arab Spring.
Since 2011, the UN estimates that more than 300,000 civilians have lost their lives and at least 100,000 Syrians have been forcibly disappeared.
During Iraq visit, Blinken calls for a non-sectarian administration in Syria
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Friday and met with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to discuss Syria’s political transition, calling for a non-sectarian administration following the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
The top US diplomat is touring the Middle East to establish a united front with Arab and Turkish allies on the set of principles that Washington hopes will guide Syria’s political transition, such as inclusivity and respect for minorities.
Dutch court rejects lawsuit from rights groups seeking to halt arms sales to Israel
A Dutch court on Friday rejected a bid from human rights groups to block weapons exports to Israel and trading with the occupied territories, after finding there were sufficient checks already in place to comply with international law.
The ten organizations told The Hague District Court last month that they thought the Netherlands was in violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention, drawn up following World War II, by continuing to sell weapons to Israel more than a year into the conflict.
“The government uses my own tax money, that I pay, to kill my own family. I’ve lost 18 members of my own family,” Ahmed Abofoul, a legal adviser for the pro-Palestinian organization Al-Haq, one of the groups involved in the lawsuit, told the court during a hearing in November.
True scale of abuses in Assad's prisons is coming to light
FRANCE 24's senior reporter James André visited the Palestine Detention Centre in central Damascus. Now that thousands of prisoners have been released, relatives are searching the hospitals of Damascus trying to find a family member or friend who had been jailed. But some of those freed have been so badly tortured that they are unrecognizable, or no longer speak.
'Friday of victory': Mass rallies across Syria celebrate end of Assad
Thousands of Syrians rallied in cities across Syria to celebrate Assad's ouster, marking the first Friday prayers since his overthrow.
Blinken meets Turkish foreign minister to discuss transition of power in Syria
On a regional tour devoted to a suddenly changed Syria, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken flew to Baghdad from the Turkish capital Ankara on Friday and headed into talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
EU looking to make contact with new Syrian leadership 'soon'
The EU is seeking to establish diplomatic contact “soon” with Syria’s new rulers, spearheaded by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a high-ranking EU official said Friday.
“What we are now thinking is to establish contacts, to pass messages about our expectations,” the official said, adding that the outreach would be at “working level”.
Iraq awaits 'actions, not just words' from new Syria rulers, says PM
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said on Friday that Baghdad was expecting “tangible actions” from Syria’s new Islamist-led rulers to ensure stability after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad.
In a meeting with visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Sudani “emphasised the importance of friendly nations assisting the Syrians in rebuilding their state” and “stressed that Iraq expects tangible actions, not just words, from those managing Syria’s transitional phase”, according to a statement from the Iraqi premier’s office.
Israel orders troops to 'prepare to remain' in Syria's buffer zone through winter
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has ordered the military to “prepare to remain” throughout the winter in the UN-patrolled buffer zone that is supposed to separate Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights.
Israel seized the demilitarised zone on the strategic plateau on Sunday, just hours after Syrian rebels swept president Bashar al-Assad from power.
The move drew international condemnation including from the United Nations, although close ally the United States on Thursday said it was consistent with Israel’s right to self-defence.
On Syria tour, Blinken pledges to work with Iraq against IS group jihadists
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised Friday to work with Iraq to ensure no resurgence of the Islamic State group after Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow in neighbouring Syria.
On a regional tour devoted to a suddenly-changed Syria, the top US diplomat flew to Baghdad from the Turkish capital Ankara and headed into talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
Blinken said he told Sudani of “our commitment to working with Iraq on security and always working for Iraq’s sovereignty, to make sure that that is strengthened and preserved”.
“I think this is a moment as well for Iraq to reinforce its own sovereignty as well as its stability, security and success going forward,” Blinken said.
Kyiv ready to supply grain to Syria, minister tells Reuters
Ukraine, a global producer and exporter of grain and oilseeds, is willing and ready to supply food to Syria following the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Vitaliy Koval told Reuters on Friday.
Russian and Syrian sources said earlier that Russian wheat supplies to Syria had been suspended over uncertainty about the new government and payment delays. Syria traditionally imported food from Russia during the Assad era.
Israeli air strikes targeted sites belonging to ousted president Bashar al-Assad's military in the coastal Latakia and Tartus provinces, a war monitor group said.
Turkey-backed rebel forces are continuing their advance to "clear terrorism" in northern Syria, a Turkish defence ministry source said on Thursday, referring to the forces' battle against a Kurdish militia in the region.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Jordan on Thursday at the start of a crisis tour following the overthrow of Syria's Bashar al-Assad.
