Camille Naredo

Anti-government fighters gather in front of the Kuweires military airfield and academy in the eastern part of Aleppo province on December 1, 2024. Aref Tammawi, AFP/File

Anti-government fighters gather in front of the Kuweires military airfield and academy in the eastern part of Aleppo province on December 1, 2024. - Syria's second-largest city Aleppo has fallen from government control for the first time since the country's conflict began more than a decade ago, a war monitor said on December 1, after a surprise advance by rebels. (Photo by Aref TAMMAWI / AFP)

Article (news)

SYRIA

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1733671671818AFP__20241201__36NW72D__v1__Preview__SyriaConflictJihadists.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Anti-government fighters gather in front of the Kuweires military airfield and academy in the eastern part of Aleppo province on December 1, 2024. Aref Tammawi, AFP/File"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Anti-government fighters gather in front of the Kuweires military airfield and academy in the eastern part of Aleppo province on December 1, 2024. <em>Aref Tammawi, AFP/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>PARIS, France -- World powers pledged to work for stability in Syria and the surrounding region after Islamist-led rebels toppled its longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.</p><p>Here is a round-up of key reactions:</p><div><strong>- High alert: Russia -</strong></div><p>Assad&#x27;s ally Moscow said Russian troops on their bases in Syria were on high alert but that there was &quot;no serious threat&quot; to them.</p><p>Prior to reports that Assad had fled, Russia&#x27;s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that Syria must not be allowed to fall into the hands of a &quot;terrorist group&quot;.</p><div><strong>- &#x27;Russia not interested any longer&#x27;: Trump -</strong></div><p>US President-elect Donald Trump attributed the fall of Assad to losing the backing of Russia.</p><p>&quot;His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer.&quot;</p><p>National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said President Joe Biden was keeping a close eye on &quot;extraordinary events&quot; transpiring and remained in constant contact with regional partners.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2024/12/8/rebels-on-syrian-state-tv-say-toppled-tyrant-bashar-al-assad-1458">READ: Rebels on Syrian state TV say toppled &#x27;tyrant&#x27; Bashar al-Assad</a></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Return to stability&#x27;: China -</strong></div><p>Beijing &quot;is closely following the development of the situation in Syria and hopes that Syria returns to stability as soon as possible&quot;, the foreign ministry said.</p><div><strong>- &#x27;Friendly relations&#x27;: Iran -</strong></div><p>Iran&#x27;s foreign ministry said it expects &quot;friendly&quot; relations with Syria to continue.</p><p>It said it would adopt &quot;appropriate approaches&quot; towards Syria in accordance with the behaviour of &quot;effective actors&quot; in Damascus.</p><div><strong>- &#x27;Country in turmoil&#x27;: Turkey -</strong></div><p>Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said his country, which has supported rebel movements in Syria, was &quot;ready to take responsibility for all that is necessary to heal Syria&#x27;s wounds and guarantee its unity, integrity and security&quot;.</p><div><strong>- &#x27;Cautious hope&#x27;: UN -</strong></div><p>The UN envoy for Syria called the rebel takeover &quot;a watershed moment&quot; for the country marred by nearly 14 years of civil war.</p><p>&quot;Today we look forward with cautious hope to the opening of a new (chapter) -- one of peace, reconciliation, dignity and inclusion for all Syrians,&quot; special envoy Geir Pedersen said.</p><p>UN war crimes investigators urged those taking charge to ensure the &quot;atrocities&quot; committed under Assad&#x27;s regime are not repeated.</p><div><strong>- End to &#x27;barbaric&#x27; state: France -</strong></div><p>French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the fall of Bashar al-Assad&#x27;s &quot;barbaric state&quot; in Syria.</p><p>&quot;I pay tribute to the Syrian people, to their courage, to their patience. In this moment of uncertainty, I send them my wishes for peace, freedom, and unity,&quot; he wrote on X.</p><div><strong>- &#x27;Good news&#x27;: Germany -</strong></div><p>German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomed the fall of Assad as &quot;good news&quot; and urged a political solution to stabilise the war-stricken country.</p><p>He said it was &quot;essential that law and order be quickly re-established in Syria&quot; and urged protection for all religious communities.</p><div><strong>- &#x27;Work together&#x27;: UAE -</strong></div><p>A senior United Arab Emirates official urged Syrians to collaborate in order to avert a spiral into chaos.</p><p>&quot;We hope that the Syrians will work together, that we don&#x27;t just see another episode of impending chaos,&quot; presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain.</p><div><strong>- &#x27;Political solution&#x27;: UK -</strong></div><p>Britain&#x27;s Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner told Sky News that while Assad &quot;wasn&#x27;t exactly good&quot; to the Syrian people, &quot;we need stability in that region&quot;.</p><p>&quot;Dictatorship and terrorism creates problems for the people of Syria, who have faced so much already,&quot; she said, urging a &quot;political solution&quot;.</p><div><strong>- &#x27;Long-awaited&#x27;: EU -</strong></div><p>The EU&#x27;s top diplomat Kaja Kallas hailed Assad&#x27;s fall as &quot;a positive and long-awaited development&quot;. She said &quot;it also shows the weakness of Assad&#x27;s backers, Russia and Iran.&quot;</p><p>She added that the EU&#x27;s priority was to &quot;ensure security&quot; in the region.</p><div><strong>- Blow to Iran: Israel -</strong></div><div><script data-wid="auto" type="text/javascript" src="https://content.viralize.tv/display/?zid=AAEyze-tm4MR6kEa&amp;cid=ABReI6TRTkcxANRC&amp;activation=click&amp;vip_mode=playing&amp;vip_position=bottom-right"></script></div><p>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Assad&#x27;s overthrow as the fall of a &quot;central link in Iran&#x27;s axis of evil&quot;.</p><p>He called it &quot;a direct result of the blows we have inflicted on Iran and Hezbollah&quot;, the militant group that Israel has been bombarding in Lebanon.</p><div><strong>- Don&#x27;t rely on Putin: Ukraine -</strong></div><p>Ukraine&#x27;s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga welcomed Assad&#x27;s departure, saying that authoritarians who rely on support from Putin are destined to fall, while stressing Kyiv&#x27;s support for Syria&#x27;s people.</p><div><strong>- Independent Islamic government: Taliban -</strong></div><p>Afghanistan&#x27;s Taliban government congratulated the Syrian people and rebels, hoping a transition would lead to &quot;an independent and service-oriented Islamic government&quot; and a Syria &quot;free from external interference&quot;.</p><div><strong>- &#x27;Free will&#x27; : Iraq -</strong></div><p>Iraq urged respect for the &quot;free will of all Syrians and emphasises that the security, territorial integrity and independence of Syria are of paramount importance,&quot; government spokesman Basim Alawadi said in a statement.</p><div><strong>- Regional stability: Spain -</strong></div><p>Spain&#x27;s foreign ministry said it supports a peaceful &quot;political transition&quot; in Syria that brings stability to the region.</p><div><strong>- Protect civilians: Ireland -</strong></div><p>Irish prime minister Simon Harris said the protection of civilians in Syria was &quot;paramount&quot; and urged a &quot;peaceful transition as well as free and fair elections&quot;.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>World powers pledged to work for stability in Syria and the surrounding region after Islamist-led rebels toppled its longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.</p>

World powers pledged to work for stability in Syria and the surrounding region after Islamist-led rebels toppled its longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.

Nations urge stability as Syrian rebels oust Assad

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Nations urge stability as Syrian rebels oust Assad

Agence France-Presse

Published December 09, 2024 12:43 AM PHT

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