Diary of the Syrian Transition – December 8, 2024

News:

-The Military Operations Department announces a curfew in Damascus starting from 4 pm until 5 am.

-A fire broke out in the Immigration and Passports building in the al-Zablatani area of Damascus.

-There are fires after Israeli aircraft targeted the security square that includes the intelligence and customs buildings in Damascus

-The Israeli army attacked any weapons depot and any air defense system in Syria, taking advantage of the current governmental chaos. Israeli forces took control of the highest point in the Hermon Mountains inside Syrian territory.

Statements from Foreign Leaders/Organizations:

-UN envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen: It is important for all Syrians to unite and lay the foundation for the future of Syria. The current time is right to establish a smooth and successful transitional process in Syria.

-Jordanian King Abdullah II: Jordan stands with the Syrians and respects their will and choices.

-Russian Foreign Ministry: As a result of negotiations between Bashar al-Assad and a number of participants in the armed conflict in the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, he decided to resign from the presidency and leave the country, giving orders for a peaceful transfer of power, and Russia did not participate in those negotiations.

-Iranian Foreign Ministry: We confirm that the Syrian people are the ones who determine the fate of their country, away from any destructive interventions or foreign dictates.

-British Deputy Prime Minister: There must be a political solution in Syria in line with UN resolutions and we need to protect civilians and infrastructure in Syria.

-Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi: Jordan will provide all possible support to the Syrian people in their efforts to rebuild their country, institutions and political system.

-Iraqi government: We respect the free will of all Syrians and confirm non-interference in Syria’s internal affairs.

-Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: We call on all Syrian parties to unity, peace and work to preserve the security, stability, unity and integrity of the country.

-Saudi Arabia calls on the international community to stand by Syria without interfering in its internal affairs

-Arab League: We are following with great interest the rapid developments in Syria, which is experiencing one of the most important and dangerous moments in its modern history.
The current phase requires all Syrians to uphold the concepts of tolerance and dialogue and to protect the rights of all components of Syrian society. We must be responsible and control weapons to preserve lives and resources. Work must be done to complete the political transition process in a peaceful and comprehensive manner. Preserving Syria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and rejecting foreign interventions are pivotal elements of Arab consensus that must be preserved. We will not hesitate to support and accompany Syria, the Arab country with a long history, until it passes the current stage peacefully. We renew our full condemnation of what “Israel” seeks to achieve illegally, taking advantage of developments in Syria.

-The Sultanate of Oman calls on all parties in Syria to exercise restraint and avoid escalation and violence

-Lebanese Foreign Ministry: We stress the importance of preserving Syria’s sovereignty and independence and non-interference in its internal affairs.

-TASS: The flag on top of the Syrian embassy in Moscow has been removed

-Palestinian Presidency: We stand with Syria, its people and its land, and we stress the importance of its unity and preserving its security and stability, wishing continued progress and prosperity for the brotherly Syrian people. All political parties must prioritize the interests of the Syrian people, in a way that ensures the restoration of Syria’s important role in the region and the world, which serves the interests of the Palestinian people and their just cause towards freedom and independence.

-Russia calls for emergency UN Security Council session tomorrow, Monday, to discuss the situation in Syria.

-Kremlin: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family members in Moscow. Asylum was granted to Assad and his family for humanitarian reasons. Russian officials are in contact with representatives of the Syrian opposition, whose leaders have pledged to ensure the safety of Russian diplomats. Syrian armed opposition leaders guarantee security of Russian diplomatic bases and institutions in Syria.

-U.S. President Joe Biden: Syria is at a turning point and the situation is risky but can be used for a better future.

-Jordanian Foreign Minister: We reject any aggression against Syria or any attempt to occupy any of its territories

Statements from Syrian Leaders:

-The Ministry of Industry calls on workers in the industrial sector, both public and private, to return to work sites in factories, companies and production centers to work hand in hand to preserve our industrial and economic facilities and restore their activity to meet the needs of our dear and precious country, and to be one hand in building our homeland, Syria.

-Caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Jalali: Calls for preserving state institutions that belong to everyone.

-Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates: Syrian brothers, today a new page is written in the history of Syria, to inaugurate a national covenant and charter that unites the word of the Syrians, unites them and does not divide them, in order to build one homeland in which justice and equality prevail and in which everyone enjoys all rights and duties, far from a single opinion. And citizenship is the basis. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates in the Syrian Arab Republic and its diplomatic missions abroad will remain committed to serving all fellow citizens and managing their affairs, based on the trust they bear in representing the Syrian people, and that the homeland remains supreme.

-Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor: We emphasize the work of the associations in supporting the people and meeting the various needs and continuing this important role and that we are together the civil guarantor to enter the next stage and we are all together supporting the new Syria. We call on all employees of the ministry to join their work, each in his place, to follow up on the work and serve those who need us. We hope that our people everywhere will preserve the infrastructure and institutions because they belong to the Syrian people who deserve to live a dignified life that suits them.

-The General Corporation for Drinking Water and Sanitation in Latakia Governorate: We continue to work on delivering water to our fellow citizens and we hope that everyone will contribute and help in preserving the properties and stations affiliated with it as they belong to the community and to everyone And let us be one hand to continue working and delivering water in a good way.

-Ministry of Economy and Foreign Trade: The Ministry of Economy and Foreign Trade calls on all its employees to return to their work in their institutions, directorates and various departments to preserve the facilities and to be one hand in building the new Syria and for the Ministry of Economy and Foreign Trade to be the economic arm that contributes to providing basic and food materials to all citizens.

-Damascus Countryside Health Directorate: We call on all employees of the Damascus Countryside Health Directorate, including doctors, technicians, nurses, and administrators at the Directorate building, public hospitals, health centers, and the rapid aid system, to join each other tomorrow to continue providing services to our fellow citizens.

-Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic in Beirut: Citizens residing in the Lebanese Republic.. The embassy will temporarily stop receiving urgent passport renewal requests until the connection with the central passport system in Damascus is restored. The embassy will announce on its page the resumption of receiving passport issuance and renewal requests as soon as the central system resumes its work.

-Ministry of Information: Colleagues working in public media institutions.. We call on everyone to join their work during the next two days so that the various media can resume broadcasting and issuing documentation of a fateful stage in the history of Syria, which we love and sanctify. We are all hopeful that the coming days will bring all the good tidings and joy to our patient people.

-Ahmed al-Shar’a: We will not retreat and we will continue on the path we started in 2011.
The future is ours.

-Ministry of Public Works and Housing: We call on all our employees to return to their work in all directorates, companies and institutions and to maintain the facilities and machinery. Let us be one hand in building the new Syria and let the Ministry of Public Works and Housing and its affiliated bodies be the arm that builds and develops the country.

-President of Damascus University: Greetings to all honorable patriots I call on all deans, professors, employees and our students to go to the university headquarters for those who can: Tomorrow at 9 am as a volunteer work to clean the university and protect it from vandals and thieves. It is our duty to protect the gains of the sons of the nation, and the university is our responsibility and protecting it and protecting the documents of our students and their future is a duty and a right of all our students We must work as one hand to build one nation and with steady steps to ensure the future and ensure that the venerable University of Damascus is not tampered with And remember that the University of Damascus and all the institutions of the nation are a trust in your necks.

-Director of Lattakia Electricity, Iyad Ibrahim: I call on all employees of the General Electricity Company of Lattakia Governorate to return to their work in the company’s directorates and departments to maintain the facilities, build the new Syria, and contribute to maintaining the continuity of the electricity sector and providing electricity to citizens. I call on fellow citizens and employees of the company to protect the electricity grid and its components because it belongs to the Syrian people who deserve to live a decent life that suits them.

-The Planning and International Cooperation Commission calls on all its employees to return to work within the next two days at the latest in the central administration and its directorates in the governorates and its affiliated bodies, and to take care of the facilities and mechanisms and let us be one hand in building the new Syria, as a technical arm of the government concerned with developing economic and social plans, and a window through which our new Syria looks out onto the outside world, and an apparatus that trains and qualifies workers.

-The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology calls on its employees and employees of its affiliated entities in all its branches in the governorates to return to their work within the next two days according to the available capabilities to resume providing services to citizens. The Ministry calls on all employees to limit the use of interest mechanisms except for the necessity required by the interest of work and the continuation of communications services to citizens in order to preserve the capabilities of government institutions. The Ministry believes that your effective cooperation will contribute greatly to achieving progress and prosperity for our beloved country Syria, and let us work together to build a bright future for the new Syria.

-Minister of Justice Judge Ahmed Al-Sayed: Syria is starting today towards a new phase in the history of Syria that we hope will be full of goodness, success and prosperity. Today, more than ever, we need to continue our work and serve our people in Syria and for the important role that the ministry has played to achieve justice and protect public and private rights and property to continue. We call on all judges, state lawyers and employees of the ministry to join their work, each in his place, to continue the work and serve those who need us. We hope that our people everywhere will preserve the infrastructure and institutions because they belong to the people of Syria who deserve to live a dignified life that befits them. May God protect Syria and its people.

-Military Operations Department: General Command: A one-year prison sentence for anyone who shoots randomly. A three-year prison sentence for anyone who steals state property, obligating him to return the stolen goods. A three-year prison sentence for anyone who assaults the property of others. A three-year prison sentence for anyone who steals cars and machinery. A four-year prison sentence for anyone who seizes state weapons and does not hand them over to the relevant authorities.

Primary Sources:

General Command of Syria:

Ahmad al-Shar’a from inside the Umayyad Mosque in the center of the Syrian capital, Damascus

General Zakat Commision:

As part of the emergency response campaign, the General Authority of Zakat committees distribute bread to our people in the city of Hama

Military Operations Department:

Newly liberated areas handed over to the Military Operations Administration of the Syrian Salvation Government

Managing military operations from inside Mezzeh Military Airport

Regarding the preservation of private and public property in the capital, Damascus

Ministry of Development and Humanitarian Affairs:

The emergency response team at the Ministry of Development and Humanitarian Affairs distributes free bread to the people of Mahardeh city

Ministry of Interior:

The police department affiliated with the Ministry of Interior in Bab al-Faraj and Bab al-Nasr in Aleppo city continues its work to settle the status of those who defected from the regime