❗️Iraq is evacuating its embassy in Damascus amid statements by militants about establishing control over the Syrian capital, the Iraqi news agency INA reports

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Syrian opposition forces are storming the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, with acts of vandalism, looting, and thefts taking place

Footage by social media

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❗️Russian troops liberated the settlement of Blagodatnoye in the Donetsk People's Republic, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

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🪖The United States will maintain its military presence in eastern Syria, as confirmed by Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East Daniel Shapiro during the Manama Dialogue security conference in Bahrain’s capital on Sunday.

Since 2015, parts of Syria's oil-rich eastern region have been occupied by the US and allied militant forces. The US has refused to withdraw, justifying its presence as part of the fight against terrorism, despite the Syrian government consistently denouncing the American presence as an act of military aggression and calling for the immediate withdrawal of US troops from its territory.

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🪖The IDF declared closed military zones in the Golan Heights, The Times of Israel reports.

Earlier in the day, Israel confirmed it had deployed forces in the buffer zone on the border with Syria "for its defense, to ensure the safety of the communities in the Golan Heights and the citizens of Israel."

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🇷🇺🪖More statements from the Russian MoD daily briefing on the special military operation's progress:    

▪️Ukraine lost up to 460 militants in the Russian Zapad Battlegroup's combat zone.

▪️Russian air defence systems shot down 12 Vampire shells and 88 Ukrainian drones in the special operation zone.

▪️Ukraine lost up to 225 militants in the Russian Yug Battlegroup's combat zone.

▪️Ukraine lost over 500 militants in the Russian Tsentr Battlegroup's combat zone.

▪️Russian military hit the infrastructure of Ukrainian military airfields, damaged energy facilities that ensure the operation of Ukraine’s military-industrial complex.

▪️Ukraine lost up to 90 soldiers in the areas of responsibility of Russia's Battlegroup Dnepr and Sever.

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On December 12, the South Korean opposition will put to a vote in parliament the issue of conducting a special investigation into the violent seizure of power by imposing martial law, the news agency Yonhap reported.

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❗️UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen suggested the leaders of the armed opposition in Syria could be removed from the list of terrorists.

He explained that the militants would need to take concrete actions on the ground to justify such a step.

Pedersen said there was a specific procedure they must follow to be removed from the list.

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❗️Russian Foreign Ministry: Assad left the presidency and Syria after negotiations with a number of participants in the Syrian conflict, instructed to peacefully transfer power.

Russia did not participate in the negotiations.

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⚡️Russian military bases in Syria are on high alert, according to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The ministry added that, at present, there is no significant security threat to the Russian military bases in Syria.

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🗣Moscow is in contact with all factions of the Syrian opposition amid the escalating situation in the country, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Russia calls on all parties involved in Syria to renounce violence and resolve issues through political means, the ministry added.

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📹 Marauding has begun in the Syrian city of Latakia, with a police station near the port set ablaze and looters ransacking warehouses, eyewitnesses told Sputnik.

The government district of Damascus is also subject to mass looting.

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The National Coalition of Syrian Opposition Forces stated that it is working on transferring power in the country to a "transitional body."

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🗣Russia has carefully studied US President-elect Trump's statement on Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

⚪️It is Ukraine that still refuses to negotiate.

⚪️Ukrainian losses are many times greater than those on the Russian side.

⚪️The terms of peace talks were announced earlier by Vladimir Putin, but Ukraine continues to refuse negotiations and does not change its position.

⚪️Putin welcomes peace initiatives on the Ukraine conflict, especially from countries representing the Global South.

⚪️In order to take part in the talks, Zelensky must first repeal the decree banning them.

Earlier, US President-elect Donald Trump, calling for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations, stated that "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would like to 'make a deal' to end the conflict in Ukraine".

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The Israeli Air Force bombed arms depots in southern Syria and the capital Damascus, ostensibly to stop weapons falling into the hands of militants, the Israeli state television and radio company Kan reported quoting a source.

Earlier, the Al-Watan newspaper reported an explosion in the Mezze area in western Damascus.

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🇸🇾 It's too early to say the Syria crisis is close to an end – pundit

"Chaos and a struggle for power will begin in Syria now. Therefore, it is at least premature to say that the crisis is close to an end," Nikolay Surkov, senior researcher at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), told Sputnik.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, following negotiations with participants of the conflict, resigned from the presidency and left Syria, instructing a peaceful transfer of power, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. Meanwhile, Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali announced on December 8 that he had established contact with the jihadi forces that entered Damascus after beginning their advance on November 27.

"After the [2023] earthquake, the Syrian economy went into a tailspin," Surkov said, commenting on the reasons for the defeat of Syrian government forces. "The government didn't even have the money to properly maintain the armed forces."

The war-torn nation has been under enormous pressure for years:

▪️The 2019 Caesar Act blocked imports of essential goods like food, energy, and basic medical supplies to Syria;

▪️The US and allied forces occupied Syria's oil fields;

▪️The US smuggled grain from illegally occupied Syrian regions.

In addition, Israel seemed to be interested in the armed opposition’s advance, seeking to close the corridor to Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement and undermining Iran's Axis of Resistance, according to the pundit.

Moscow made it clear it would work with any government chosen by the Syrian people.

"Russia cannot be more Syrian than the Syrians themselves," Russian President Vladimir Putin stated in 2015.

"Syria has long been divided. Now the government in central Syria has changed. Earlier it was the Syrian government that relied on Iran and Russia, now it will be the Islamists," Surkov said.

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🗣Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Syrian border and stated that the change in government in Damascus was "a direct result of the blows we have inflicted on Iran and Hezbollah."

He added that the shift in power in Syria creates new opportunities for Israel.

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