Syria conflict updates: Government forces have lost Daraa’s control, in another blow for President Bashar al-Assad’s rule after rebels wrested other key cities. Syrian rebels have taken control of Daraa, the birthplace of the 2011 uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, marking a dramatic turn in the country’s prolonged civil war. Daraa’s fall on Saturday, December 7, is the fourth major city to slip from government control in just a week.
Rebel sources told news agency Reuters that the military agreed to make an orderly withdrawal from Daraa under a deal giving army officials safe passage to the capital Damascus, about 100 km north. While Aleppo and Hama, the two other main cities taken from government control in recent days, fell to an Islamist-led rebel alliance, Daraa was taken by local armed groups, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Indian government on Friday issued a travel advisory for Syria, strongly advising Indian nationals to avoid all travel to the country until further notice. This warning comes in light of the situation prevailing in Syria, which poses significant risks to travellers.
“In view of the situation prevailing in Syria, Indian nationals are advised to avoid all travel to Syria, until further notification,” the ministry of external affairs said in a press release. The swift rebel advance has thrown Bashar al-Assad’s government into crisis, threatening its hold on key regions, including the strategic city of Homs.
