Syria Civil War News: Germany, other EU countries suspend decisions on Syrians' asylum bids

Germany and several other European countries said Monday they are suspending decisions on asylum claims by Syrian nationals because of the unclear situation in their homeland following the fall of Bashar Assad, AP reported.

At the court of Justice in Damascus, which was stormed by the rebels to free detainees, Judge Khitam Haddad, an aide to the justice minister in the outgoing government, said Sunday that judges were ready to resume work quickly.

“We want to give everyone their rights,” Haddad said outside the courthouse. “We want to build a new Syria and to keep the work, but with new methods.” But a UN official said some government services had been paralyzed as worried state employees stayed home.

The global chemical weapons watchdog said that it reminded Syria of its obligations to comply with rules to safeguard certain toxic chemicals after rebels entered the capital Damascus over the weekend and overthrew Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said in a statement it has been “monitoring closely the recent developments in Syria, with special attention to the status of its chemical weapons-related sites and other locations of interest.”

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Prime minister says the government is still operational.

Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali, who remained in his post after Assad and most of his top officials vanished over the weekend, has sought to project normalcy.

“We are working so that the transitional period is quick and smooth,” he told Sky News Arabia TV.

Israelis welcomed the fall of Assad, who was a key ally of Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group, while expressing concern over what comes next. Israel says its forces temporarily seized a buffer zone inside Syria dating back to a 1974 agreement after Syrian troops withdrew in the chaos.

Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria in recent years, targeting what it says are military sites related to Iran and Hezbollah. Israeli officials rarely comment on individual strikes.

Some key government services had shut down as state workers ignored calls to return to their jobs, a UN official said, causing issues at airports and borders and slowing the flow of humanitarian aid.

The EU’s European Council urged Syria actors to “reject all forms of extremism” and engage in a peaceful and inclusive transition.

Mohammed al-Bashir is expected to be selected as the head of Syria’s new transitional government.

Before this appointment, al-Bashir was the SSG’s minister of development and humanitarian affairs from 2022 to 2023.

A former staff at the Syrian Gas Company, he holds degrees in engineering, as well as Sharia and law.

Palestinian group Hamas congratulated the Syrian people on Monday for achieving their "aspirations for freedom and justice" after toppling President Bashar al-Assad.

"We stand strongly with the great people of Syria... and respect the will, the independence, and the political choices of the people of Syria," the Islamist faction that has been governing the Gaza Strip said in a statement.

Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) has put all asylum applications from Syrian nationals on hold until further notice.

Asylum requests will be not be processed until there is more clarity on political developments in the country, which is just emerging from a 13-year civil war, the spokesperson said.

Austria's caretaker government said on Monday it had ordered a halt to the processing of asylum applications by Syrians after rebels seized Damascus.

"Chancellor Karl Nehammer today instructed Interior Minister Gerhard Karner to suspend all current Syrian asylum applications and to review all cases in which asylum was granted," the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The bank has assured citizens that the deposits will not be touched, according to a statement.

“The Central Bank of Syria continues its work, and it will continue to monitor and supervise the work of the banking and nonbanking financial institutions,” it said, as per reports.

Hundreds of Syrian refugees gathered at two border crossings in southern Turkey on Monday, anticipating their return home.

Many arrived at the Cilvegozu and Oncupinar border gates at daybreak, draped in blankets and coats.

Some camped by the barriers of the border crossing, warming themselves with makeshift fires or resting on the cold ground.

Lebanon's Hezbollah views events in Syria as a "major, dangerous and new transformation", a senior Hezbollah politician said.

"What is happening in Syria is a major, dangerous and new transformation, and how and why what happened requires an evaluation, and the evaluation is not done on the podiums," Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said in a statement.

The U.N. human rights chief called on Monday for accountability for perpetrators of abuse under toppled Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, but said there was a "huge chance" for an inclusive political transition, and that early signs were promising.

More than 4,000 Syrian army soldiers have crossed into Iraq since rebel forces seized Damascus and overthrew the government of Bashar Assad, official said.

Another security official said that the governor of the Syrian province of Hasakeh had come to the border late Sunday night with a convoy of Syrian army soldiers who wanted to cross into Iraq, and they were allowed in via the Qaim crossing.

World shares were mixed and oil prices jumped Monday after the weekend overthrow of Syrian leader Bashar Assad.

That added to uncertainty in a region fraught with conflict. U.S. benchmark crude oil jumped 75 cents to $67.95 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

A day after rebel forces overthrew President Bashar Assad's authoritarian government in Syria, India on Monday called for a peaceful and inclusive Syrian-led political process to bring stability to that country.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it is monitoring the unfolding developments in Syria while underlining the need for all parties to work towards preserving the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Arab Republic.

Syria's prime minister said Monday that most Cabinet ministers are still working from offices in Damascus after rebels entered the capital over the weekend and overthrew President Bashar Assad.

In some areas, small groups of armed men were stationed in the streets. A video circulating online showed a man in military fatigues holding a rifle attempting to reassure residents of the Mezzeh neighbourhood in Damascus that they would not be harmed.

Israel will step up airstrikes on Syrian stores of advanced weaponry, Israeli officials said, and keep a 'limited' troop presence on the ground, hoping to head off any threat that could emerge in the fallout of president Bashar al-Assad's overthrow.

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Turkey will work for the safe and voluntary return home of the Syrian migrants it hosts and will help in the reconstruction of Syria after President Bashar al-Assad's sudden ouster by rebels, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said.

Turkey, which said it gave no support and had no involvement in the offensive by the Syrian opposition forces it has backed for years against Assad, said on Sunday it wanted the new Syrian administration to be inclusive and for Syrians to determine their own future.

The Kremlin said that it was too early to say what the future would hold for Russia's military bases in Syria, adding that it would be the subject of discussion with the new rulers in Damascus.

After a lightning advance of a militia alliance spearheaded by Hayat al-Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaeda affiliate, Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia, raising questions about two strategically-important Russian military facilities in Syria.

Britain could rethink its proscription of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) as a banned organisation, after the group spearheaded the Syrian rebel alliance that helped oust President Bashar al-Assad, British senior minister Pat McFadden said on Monday.

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Kremlin says Russia has given political asylum to former Syrian President Bashar Assad, as per AP

The United Nations Security Council is set to meet later today to discuss Syria at the request of Russia.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara wants to see a new Syria that lives in harmony with its neighbours and is ready to support the country’s reconstruction.

A Kremlin source told Russian news agencies on Sunday that Assad and his family were in Moscow, hours after he fled the country as Islamist-led rebels entered Damascus.

The source also said the rebels who ousted Assad in a lightning offensive “guaranteed the security of Russian army bases and diplomatic institutions on Syria’s territory”.

A group of men at the Syrian embassy in Moscow raised the opposition flag on Monday morning, as per AFP.

Paris will send a special diplomatic envoy to the country in the coming days, as per France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.

India on Monday called for a peaceful and inclusive Syrian-led political process to bring stability in that country.

"We are monitoring the situation in Syria in the light of ongoing developments," MEA said.

China's foreign ministry on Monday called for a "political solution" to be found in Syria as soon as possible to restore stability and order, after rebels seized the Syrian capital over the weekend and its president fled to Russia.

China is closely following developments in Syria, and hopes all relevant parties will act in the fundamental interests of the Syrian people, Mao Ning, spokesperson at the Chinese foreign ministry, said at a regular news conference.

As per reports, Gideon Saar said the deployment of troops in Syrian territory is a “limited, temporary” step meant to ensure Israel’s security during the confusion after the fall of al-Assad.

Syrian rebels reached Damascus over the weekend and overthrew President Bashar Assad's government following nearly 14 years of civil war, raising hopes for a more peaceful future but also concerns about a potential security vacuum in the country, which is still split among armed groups.