Syria | Pakistan

Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa receives UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres at presidential palace.—AFP • Guterres pledges support for Syria’s reconstruction; backs Syria’s request for EU support; calls situation in Golan Heights ‘totally unacceptable’ • Damascus demands Israeli withdrawal from ‘buffer zone’ DAMASCUS: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres pledged help for Syrian reconstruction on Saturday during the first visit to Damascus by a serving United Nations chief since 2009, before the start of a civil war that killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa received Guterres at the presidential palace in Damascus, state news agency SANA said, without providing further details. “No country emerges from a very severe conflict and rebuilds itself on its own,” Guterres said after the talks with Sharaa at a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani. “We must help Syria in its determination and resolve to do so,” Guterres added. Shaibani rei...

WASHINGTON: Pak­ist­an has called for a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned transitional justice process in the Arab nation, stressing that respect for national sovereignty was essential for bringing lasting peace and stability to Syria. Speaking at an Arria-Formula Meeting in the UN on Transitional Just­ice and Missing Persons in Syria on Tuesday evening, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative Ambas­sador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said efforts to address the consequences of years of conflict must remain under Syrian ownership, with international support serving only a complementary role. “National ownership, reconciliation and inclusive institutions are essential for achieving lasting peace and stability in Syria,” he said. The Pakistani envoy welcomed steps taken by the Syrian government, including the establishment of the National Commission for Trans­itional Justice and the National Commission for Missing Persons, as well as the preparation of a draft law on transitional justice. “Effective cooperation between Syrian nati...

Two bombs exploded near the hotel in Damascus where Emmanuel Macron held meetings on Tuesday, Syrian state media said, but the French president’s office said he did not hear the explosions and he met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa soon afterwards. The blasts underscore the major security challenges in Syria, where Macron is the first head of state of a European Union country to visit since rebels led by Sharaa toppled Bashar al-Assad in 2024. The explosions struck a busy area between the Syrian tourism ministry and the national museum across the street from the Four Seasons, where Macron was meeting civil society groups. Syria’s state news agency reported that 18 people were injured in the explosions, including four police officers. The first blast hit soon after Macron’s motorcade left for the presidential palace. Reuters footage showed flames and smoke billowing from a trash can when a second explosion was caught on camera a few metres away. The second blast went off next to an ambulance parked at the sce...

US and allied forces carried out “large-scale” strikes against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in Syria on Saturday, the US military said, the latest response to an attack last month that killed three Americans. US Central Command (Centcom), which oversees American military forces in the region, said multiple strikes “targeted ISIS throughout Syria,” using an acronym for the terrorist group. Centcom’s post on X did not give specifics on where they took place. Grainy aerial video accompanying the post showed several separate explosions, apparently in rural areas. The strikes were part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, which was launched “in direct response to the deadly ISIS attack on US and Syrian forces in Palmyra,” Centcom said. Two US soldiers and a US civilian interpreter were killed on December 13 after a lone gunman — whom Washington described as an IS militant — ambushed them in Palmyra. Syria’s interior ministry later said the gunman was a member of the security forces who had been set to be fired f...

Fighting intensified on Thursday between Syrian government troops and Kurdish fighters in the northern city of Aleppo, with a fierce exchange of fire extending into the night and rescue workers scrambling to put out fires ignited by the shelling. Plumes of smoke rose above the city skyline at dusk and the boom of artillery could be heard across Aleppo as the Kurdish fighters tried to repel the troops’ advance and cling to neighbourhoods under their control. The fighting, which erupted on Tuesday, has driven more than 140,000 people from their homes and left at least seven civilians dead, according to Syrian authorities. The deadly stand-off between Damascus and Kurdish authorities, who have resisted integrating into the central government, is a major challenge for Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has pledged to unite the country after 14 years of civil war. Stalled talks on ceasefire Syria’s army gave a window on Thursday for residents to evacuate the neighbourhoods held by Kurdish forces in Aleppo befor...

The British Ministry of Defence said it cooperated with France on Saturday night to strike an underground facility in Syria that had likely been used by the militant Islamic State (IS) group to store weapons. “Royal Air Force aircraft have completed successful strikes against Daesh in a joint operation with France,” the ministry said in a statement, using the Arabic acronym for IS. “This facility had been occupied by Daesh, most likely to store weapons and explosives. The area around the facility is devoid of any civilian habitation,” the statement added. The ministry said there was no indication the bombing north of the ancient site of Palmyra had posed any risk to civilians. IS was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019 but still maintains a presence, particularly in the country’s vast desert. Last month, Washington said a lone IS gunman in Palmyra attacked American personnel, killing two US soldiers and a US civilian. US forces said they struck dozens of IS targets in Syria in retaliation.

An explosion killed at least eight worshippers at a mosque in a predominantly Alawite area of Syria’s Homs on Friday, state media said. The attack during Friday prayers is the latest on the Alawite community, and the second blast in a place of worship since extremist authorities took power a year ago, after a suicide bombing in a Damascus church killed 25 people in June. In a statement on Telegram, terrorist group Saraya Ansar al-Sunna said its fighters “detonated a number of explosive devices” in the Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib Mosque in the central Syrian city. The group formed after the ouster last year of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, himself a member of the Alawite community, and had claimed responsibility for the June church bombing, though authorities blamed the militant Islamic State group. State news agency SANA reported an explosion in the mosque in Homs’s Wadi al-Dahab neighbourhood and gave a preliminary toll of at least eight dead and 18 wounded, citing a health ministry official. An AFP photographe...

The US military launched large-scale strikes against dozens of Islamic State targets in Syria on Friday in retaliation for an attack on American personnel, US officials said. A US-led coalition had already been carrying out airstrikes and ground operations in Syria targeting Islamic State suspects in recent months, often with the involvement of Syria’s security forces. US President Donald Trump had vowed to retaliate after a suspected ISIS attack killed US personnel last weekend in Syria. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the strikes targeted “ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites” and said the operation was “OPERATION HAWKEYE STRIKE”. “This is not the beginning of a war it is a declaration of vengeance,” Hegseth said. “Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue,” he added. Trump said on social media that the Syrian government fully supported the strikes and that the US was inflicting “very serious retaliation”. At a speech in North Carolina on Friday night,...

United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday expanded a list of countries subject to a full travel ban, prohibiting citizens from an additional seven countries, including Syria, from entering the country. The White House said in a statement that Trump signed a proclamation “expanding and strengthening entry restrictions on nationals from countries with demonstrated, persistent, and severe deficiencies in screening, vetting, and information-sharing to protect the Nation from national security and public safety threats”. Tuesday’s move banned citizens from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, Syria and those holding Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents. The action also imposes a full ban on Laos and Sierra Leone, which had previously only been subject to partial restrictions. The White House said the expanded ban goes into effect on January 1. The action comes despite Trump’s vow to do everything he could to make Syria successful after landmark talks in November with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sha...

Syria is joining the global coalition against the militant Islamic State (IS) group, a United States’ official said on Monday hours after US President Donald Trump welcomed his Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa for historic White House talks. Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December last year, was the first Syrian leader to visit the White House since the Middle Eastern country’s independence in 1946. But the 43-year-old’s landmark visit to the Oval Office came just days after Washington removed him from its terrorism list. Sharaa’s group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), was formerly affiliated with Al-Qaeda. “During the visit, Syria announced that it is joining the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS,” becoming the 90th member of the alliance and “partnering with the United States to eliminate ISIS remnants and halt foreign fighter flows”, a senior administration official said. According to the official, Syria will also be allowed to resume diplomatic relations with Washington “t...

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday he would honour all past deals struck between his country and Moscow, a pledge suggesting Moscow’s two main military bases in Syria are safe. Sharaa, who once headed the Syrian branch of al Qaeda and who toppled predecessor Bashar al-Assad, a close Russian ally, late last year, was speaking at the start of Kremlin talks with Putin, his first visit to Russia since coming to power. “There are bilateral relations and shared interests that bind us with Russia, and we respect all agreements made with it. We are working on redefining the nature of relations with Russia,” Sharaa, who was speaking in Arabic, told Putin. Putin told him that Moscow was ready to do all it could to act on what he called “many interesting and useful beginnings” that had already been discussed between the two sides when it came to renewing relations. The Kremlin chief also congratulated Sharaa on the fact that parliamentary elections were held earlier this ...

Saudi Arabia has dispatched 50 aid trucks to Syria as part of its ongoing humanitarian land bridge, carrying more than 670 tons of medical, food, and shelter supplies to support the Syrian people.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan yesterday strongly condemned the latest Israeli airstrikes in Gaza and Syria, terming them blatant violations of international law and urging the international community to hold Israel accountable.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan yesterday expressed concerns over violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Saudi Arabia on Thursday signed major investment and partnership deals with Syria, valued at $6.4 billion, to help rebuild the war-ravaged country’s infrastructure, telecommunications and other major sectors. The oil-rich Gulf kingdom has been a major backer of the new Syrian government, which seized power after an Islamist-led offensive toppled longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad […]

WASHINGTON: The United States said on Thursday that it opposed Israel’s strikes in Syria, a day after Washington helped broker a deal to end violence. “The United States did not support recent Israeli strikes,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters. “We are engaging diplomatically with Israel and Syria at the highest levels, both to address the present crisis and reach a lasting agreement between the two sovereign states,” she said. She declined to say if the United States had expressed its displeasure with Israel or whether it would oppose future strikes on Syria. Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced concern when asked about the Israeli strikes, which included attacking the defence ministry in Damascus. Fresh clashes rock Druze heartland He later issued a statement that did not directly address the Israeli strikes, but voiced broader concern about the violence. Israel said it was intervening on behalf of the Druze community after communal clashes. Fresh clashes Meanwhile, Bedouin tribes an...

Pakistan has strongly condemned Israel’s ongoing military aggression against Syria, calling it a dangerous violation of international law and a serious threat to regional and global peace.

Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa promised to protect the rights of Druze citizens on Thursday as a ceasefire appeared to be holding in the country’s south following US intervention to end fighting between government forces and Druze fighters. Overnight, the government’s troops withdrew from the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, where scores of people have been killed in days of conflict pitting local fighters against the Damascus authorities and Bedouin tribes. The violence in Syria escalated sharply on Wednesday as Israel launched airstrikes in Damascus while pressing attacks on government forces in the south, demanding they withdraw and saying Israel aimed to protect Syria’s Druze minority. Describing Syria’s new rulers as “barely disguised jihadists”, Israel has bombed repeatedly this year, saying it will not allow Syrian government forces to deploy into areas near its frontier. Facing calls from Israel’s own Druze minority to shield Syria’s Druze, Israel has also seized ground in the south. In ...

In Syria’s Druze-majority city of Sweida, residents said they have been living in terror since the arrival of government forces who have been carrying out what witnesses and a war monitor have called summary executions. Syrian government forces entered the majority-Druze city of Sweida on Tuesday with the stated aim of overseeing a ceasefire agreed with Druze community leaders following days of fighting with local Bedouin tribes. Syria’s Druze community follows a religion derived from Islam and is part of a minority group that also has members in Lebanon, Israel, and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. In Syria, the community is concentrated in the Sweida region bordering Jordan, in areas adjoining the Israeli-occupied Golan, and in Damascus’ Jaramana suburb. Echoing arrangements for the Alawites, French colonial authorities established a state called Jabal al-Druze centred on Sweida until 1936. Members of the Druze community demonstrate before Israeli forces by the barbed-wire fence separating the Israeli-an...

Federal Minister for Religious Affairs, Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, has revealed that nearly 40,000 Pakistani pilgrims who traveled to Iran, Iraq, and Syria are either missing or have overstayed, with no official record of their whereabouts.