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First Flight Since Assad’s Fall Takes Off from Damascus

General Security personnel stand next to a Syrian Air airplane ahead of take-off as the airport reopens for internal flights in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
General Security personnel stand next to a Syrian Air airplane ahead of take-off as the airport reopens for internal flights in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
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First Flight Since Assad’s Fall Takes Off from Damascus

General Security personnel stand next to a Syrian Air airplane ahead of take-off as the airport reopens for internal flights in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
General Security personnel stand next to a Syrian Air airplane ahead of take-off as the airport reopens for internal flights in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

The first flight since the ouster of Syria’s president Bashar Assad took off on Wednesday from Damascus airport to Aleppo in the country’s north, AFP journalists saw.
Thirty-two people including journalists were on board the plane.

Assad fled Syria as a lightning opposition offensive wrested from his control city after city.

His army and security forces abandoned Damascus airport on December 8, and until Wednesday no flights had taken off or landed.
Earlier this week, airport staff were painting on planes the three-star independence flag that became a symbol of the 2011 uprising and which the country's new rulers have adopted.
In the terminal, the new flag also replaced the one linked to Assad's era.

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Syria’s Military Operations Command Targets Warlords, Associates of Asma al-Assad

Photos of the missing hang on the main gate of Saydnaya prison, north Damascus (AFP)
Photos of the missing hang on the main gate of Saydnaya prison, north Damascus (AFP)
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Syria’s Military Operations Command Targets Warlords, Associates of Asma al-Assad

Photos of the missing hang on the main gate of Saydnaya prison, north Damascus (AFP)
Photos of the missing hang on the main gate of Saydnaya prison, north Damascus (AFP)

Detainees at Hama Central Prison, who surrendered or were captured during battles that toppled Assad regime positions, will face trial on Thursday, a UK-based war monitor reported.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), trials will be held in batches.
A judicial committee linked to the Justice Ministry of the interim government formed by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) will handle the cases, SOHR director Rami Abdul Rahman told Asharq Al-Awsat.
The “Military Command Administration” is carrying out raids in Syria’s coastal regions, Hama, and Homs to arrest warlords accused of profiting from the conflict, the SOHR reported.
The campaign targets figures tied to regime leaders, including associates of Asma al-Assad, the ousted president’s wife, and former officials accused of war crimes.
The campaign is targeting officers, militias, and informants accused of crimes against Syrians, according to the SOHR.
After the regime’s collapse and intensified fighting, hundreds of officers and fighters surrendered, with many now detained as prisoners of war.
The SOHR has urged treating detainees according to international laws, allowing them to contact their families, and ensuring fair trials before independent courts.
The organization also called for convicted individuals to be informed of legal procedures and the timelines for each step.

The White Helmets have uncovered around 20 unidentified bodies and skeletal remains in a drug warehouse near the Sayyida Zainab area in Damascus, Syrian Civil Defense official Ammar Al-Salmo said on Wednesday.
Sayyida Zainab, a southern Damascus district, was a Hezbollah and Iranian-backed militia stronghold since 2012. These groups claimed to defend the site during Syria’s uprising. According to AFP, they have now been replaced by local armed groups.
Al-Salmo, speaking near the shrine, said, “We received reports of foul odors and remains in the warehouse.”
A small refrigerator held about 10 decomposed bodies, with bones and skulls scattered across the room.
The remains, believed to be 1-2 years old, were collected for DNA testing.
Bashar al-Assad fled Syria on December 8 after opposition forces led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham launched a rapid offensive, ending 13 years of his regime’s oppression of opposition protests.
The SOHR reported that military authorities are prosecuting individuals linked to war crimes under public pressure for justice and to prevent acts of personal retribution. Accountability for crimes remains a core demand of the Syrian revolution.