World Briefing: December 8, 2024
Syria’s armed opposition says its fighters have captured the capital, Damascus, and that President Bashar al-Assad has fled the country. The commander of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Abu Mohammed al-Julani, says all state institutions will remain under the supervision of al-Assad’s prime minister until they are handed over officially. The announcements come hours after the opposition groups seized several cities in a lightning offensive. Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Turkiye and Russia issued a joint statement earlier in the night, describing the crisis as a “dangerous development” and calling for a political solution. A message put on top of a red background on Syrian state television is now celebrating the successful offensive. “The victory of the great Syrian revolution and the fall of the criminal al-Assad regime,” reads the message - Al Jazeera
Kenneth Roth, the former executive director of the Human Rights Watch, was quoted on Al Jazeera as saying that the Syrian government was “one of the world’s most ruthless regimes”. He added: “Few people are shedding any tears over the demise of the Assad regime..They have executed or tortured to death thousands upon thousands of prisoners,” Roth stressed. He reminded that the Assad government “used chemical weapons against their own people” and “repeatedly dropped notorious barrel bombs filled with shrapnel…This is a man who would do absolutely anything to retain power,” Roth also said. He said despite the fact that not much is known about the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, who says it is reformed from its al-Qaeda past, the country is hoping this is “an important new beginning”.
NPR reminds us that under Assad’s rule, hundreds of thousands of Syrians were killed, many of them civilians, and mostly by the Syrian military. The U.S. and the United Nations blamed Assad for a chemical weapons attack that killed hundreds, and perhaps more than 1,000 people in 2013. Millions of Syrians fled abroad and millions more have been displaced inside the country. Overall, roughly half the country's 23 million people have been driven from their homes in one of the worst humanitarian crises of this century.
The fall of the government of al-Assad, a key ally of Moscow, has dealt a serious blow to Russia's great-power ambitions. “Putin's military adventure in Syria was designed to demonstrate that Russia is a great power and can project its influence abroad," said Phillip Smyth, a Middle East expert. "Losing Syria is a huge slap in the face for Putin." Assad's ouster represents not only a reputational hit to Russia but likely a major strategic setback. Syria is home to two major Russia military installations: an air base in Hmeimim and a naval base in Tartus. The latter is Russia's only warm-water naval base and provides Moscow access to the Mediterranean Sea. “Russia has used its bases in Syria to project its power both into the eastern Mediterranean and into the broader Middle East," said Smyth. Aaron Zelin, senior fellow at the Washington Institute, said Russia simply does not have the same firepower at its disposal to protect its assets in Syria. “It is important to remember that Russia has to deal with its larger war in Ukraine now compared to when they first went in Syria in 2015," said Zelin. "Russia also has its assets fighting in sub-Saharan Africa, too. And unlike a decade ago, when Russia had the Wagner Group led by [the deceased Yevgeny] Prigozhin ... Russia doesn't have the same level of capacity or capability to deal with this now in the same way." Zelin said losing the Tartus naval base, in particular, would be an "extremely huge loss for Russia…It's Russia's only warm-water port that it can use for its naval activities and power projection," he said. "Losing it would essentially cut Russia out of the core of the Middle East." - RFE-RL
The beleaguered French President, Emmanuel Macron, in the depths of one of his gravest political crises at home, played host to president-elect Donald Trump Saturday. The incoming American leader was in town with around 100 other world leaders to celebrate the re-opening of the historic Notre Dame Cathedral following a devastating fire five years ago. It was also an opportunity for Macron - who sees himself as the leader of a continent increasingly fractured - to rise above domestic political bickering and appear statesmanlike to his people. Shortly after Macron and Trump greeted each other, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky joined the pow wow. It was the first time he sat alongside Trump since he was re-elected. However the talks did not seem to generate a dramatic breakthrough. Zelensky posted afterwards: “A good, productive meeting …President Trump is determined as always. We talked about our people, the situation on the battlefield and a just peace for of Ukraine. We all want to end this war as soon as possible. We have agreed to continue working.”
After meeting with president-elect Trump, Zelensky told Ukrainian media: “Ukraine’s position should be known from Ukraine, not from third parties. Just peace is important for us. It is important for us that Putin and other aggressors do not have the opportunity to return.”
The Prince of Wales also met with Trump; afterwards the American leader-to-be described William as a “good man” doing a “fantastic job.”
The United States will provide nearly $1 billion more in longer-term weapons support to Ukraine, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday as the Biden administration rushes to spend all the congressionally approved money it has left to bolster Kyiv before President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month. The latest package will include more drones and munitions for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, that the U.S. has provided. While these weapons are critically needed now, they will be funded through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which pays for longer-term systems to be put on contract. The weapon systems purchased are often intended to support Ukraine’s future military capabilities, not make an immediate difference on the battlefield. The $988 million package is on top of an additional $725 million in U.S. military assistance, including counter-drone systems and HIMARS munitions, announced Monday that would be drawn from the Pentagon’s stockpiles to more quickly get to the front lines. The U.S. has provided Ukraine with more than $62 billion in military aid since Russia’s invasion in February 2022 - AP
At least five people have died and four others injured after explosions rocked a block of flats in The Hague in the Netherlands, authorities have said. Firefighters rushed to the three-storey building following the blasts that caused the collapse of several homes in the Tarwekamp area at around 06:15 (05:15 GMT) on Saturday. The cause of the explosions is not yet clear, but Dutch police said a car drove away "at very high speed" shortly after, and have appealed for witnesses - BBC
The South Korean National Assembly's scrapped vote to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol is increasing uncertainties in the nation's politics and society rather than subduing the confusion stemming from his short-lived martial law. The ruling party is promising Yoon's early resignation and exclusion from his duties but without details or a specific timeline, while the opposition bloc is calling such plans unconstitutional and pledging to keep seeking impeachment until it is passed. Ruling People Power Party (PPP) leader Han Dong-hoon and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo issued addresses together, Sunday, on how to stabilize the situation and manage state affairs in an effort to ease concerns of the public and the international community as the nation grapples with the fallout from Yoon's martial law fiasco. Their announcement came a day after Yoon escaped an impeachment vote as the motion was scrapped without a ballot count, as it fell short of quorum after all but three PPP lawmakers boycotted the vote - Korea Times
