Syria war live: Assad regime toppled as rebel fighters seize control of Damascus

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock expressed understanding for the relief Syrian people felt after the fall of Bashar Assad’s government, but warned that “the country must not now fall into the hands of other radicals.”

“Several hundred thousand Syrians have been killed in the civil war, millions have fled,” Baerbock said in a statement emailed by her office Sunday. “Assad has murdered, tortured and used poison gas against his own people. He must finally be held accountable for this.”

Baerbock also called “on the parties to the conflict to live up to their responsibility for all Syrians.”

“This includes the comprehensive protection of ethnic and religious minorities such as Kurds, Alawites or Christians and an inclusive political process that creates a balance between the groups,” the German foreign minister said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hailed the ousting of Syria‘s Bashar al-Assad as a “historic day” that followed the blows delivered by Israel against Assad’s supporters Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

On a visit to the area near the border with Syria, he said he had ordered Israeli forces to seize areas in the buffer zone to ensure Israel’s security and said: “We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border”.

Syrians will have to cope with a full-scale civil war alone, Konstantin Kosachyov, deputy chairman of Russia’s upper house of parliament has said.

Russia, a staunch Assad ally, intervened decisively in 2015 to prop him up during Syria’s civil war. But with its military resources mostly tied down in Ukraine, Russia’s ability to influence the situation on the ground was far more limited this time round – despite maintaining two military facilities in Syria – and it did not mobilise the same level of resources.

Kosachyov, a veteran Russian expert in international affairs, predicted that the civil war in Syria would not end with Assad’s departure and that tough times were ahead.

“Syria is a very difficult story, for everyone without exception. One way or another, the civil war will not end today, there are too many opposing interests and too many opposing forces. Including outright terrorist groups. And that is why the hardest part is ahead again,” Kosachyov wrote on his official Telegram channel.

“It’s a tragedy, I repeat, for everyone. And for us Russians, our primary task is to ensure the safety of our compatriots and civilians, including of our diplomats and their families, and, of course, of the military personnel who are there for the sake of Syria, its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“If the people of Syria continue to need our support, it will be provided. But hardly in the context of a full-scale civil war. The Syrians will have to deal with that themselves,” he said.

Turkey-backed Syrian forces have taken control of some 80 per cent of northern Syria’s Manbij area and are close to victory against Kurdish forces there, a Turkish security source has said.

“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 told Reuters, referring to the Kurdish militia which has long been in control of Manbij.

Suspected Israeli airstrikes have hit the Mazzeh district of Damascus, security sources have said.

Additionally, jets believed to be Israeli bombed the Khalkhala air base in southern Syria that was evacuated by the Syrian army overnight, two regional security sources told Reuters.

The Israeli government had no comment on the reported strikes.

The regional security sources said at least six strikes hit the main air base in the north of the city of Suweida that has a large stockpile of rockets and missiles left by Syrian troops.

The attack appeared aimed at prevent these weapons from falling into the hands of radical groups, one source told Reuters.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said that Syria’s new administration must be inclusive because Syrian people would now determine their own future.

In a press conference in Doha, Mr Fidan said Syrian people were not in a position to rebuild on their own and that international actors and regional powers had to act with prudence and preserve its territorial integrity, warning that terrorist organisations must not be allowed to take advantage of the situation.

Asked about the whereabouts of Assad, Mr Fidan said he could not comment on the issue but that he believed he was out of the country. He also said Turkey had no contact with Assad despite a call from President Tayyip Erdogan to hold normalisation talks.

US President-elect Donald Trump has said that Russia’s abandonment of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad led to his downfall, adding Moscow never should have protected him in the first place.

“Assad is gone. He has fled his country. His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by (President) Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

“There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place,” Trump wrote. “They lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine … a war that should never have started, and could go on forever.”

Trump, who takes office on 20 January, added that Russia and Iran, Assad’s other main backer, “are in a weakened state right now, one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, the other because of Israel and its fighting success”.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had left office and departed the country after giving orders there be a peaceful handover of power.

In a statement, the ministry did not say where Assad was now and said Russia has not taken part in the talks around his departure.

“As a result of negotiations between B. Assad and a number of participants in the armed conflict on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, he decided to resign from the presidency and left the country, giving instructions for a peaceful transfer of power.

“Russia did not participate in these negotiations,” the ministry said.

Moscow was extremely worried by events in Syria and urged all sides to refrain from violence, it said.

“We urge all parties involved to refrain from the use of violence and to resolve all issues of governance through political means,” the statement said.

“In that regard, the Russian Federation is in contact with all groups of the Syrian opposition.”