The Israeli Minister of Defense, Israel Katzconfirmed this Tuesday that the Israel Navy has destroyed the entire military fleet of the deposed regime Bashar Al Assad in Syriawhile its ground troops remain stationed within the demilitarized area of the border.
“The Israel Marina “operated on Monday night, successfully destroying the Syrian fleet,” he said. Katz during a visit to a naval base in Haifain the north of Israel.
Large-scale attacks from Israeli warships were carried out to prevent the capabilities and weaponry of the Syrian navy fell into the hands of the insurgent forcesthe majority Islamist and pro-Turkish.
“Whoever follows in the footsteps of Al Asad He will end up like Assad. We will not allow an extremist Islamic terrorist entity to act against Israel from beyond its borders, we will do everything possible to eliminate the threat“, warned the minister.
Syrian warships armed with sea-sea missiles were destroyed in attacks carried out by ballistic missiles of the Israeli Navy in the bay of Minet al Beida and the port of Latakiaon the Syrian coast.
“Las Israel Defense Forces have acted in recent days to attack and destroy strategic capabilities that threaten the State of Israel“he stressed Katz.
He insisted that Israeli troops want to create a safe zone – without heavy weapons forces, and without a permanent Israeli presence – beyond the current demilitarized zone that Israel y Syria agreed in 1974 in their disarmament agreement.
“Las FDI “They are completing their establishment in the buffer zone and in controlled areas,” he indicated. Katz.
Previously, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) reported more than 300 air strikes by the Tel Aviv Army, to destroy the main military installations in Syria.
Journalists of the AFP In Damascus they heard loud explosions in the early morning and live images from AFPTV showed thick columns of smoke over the center of the capital.
A scientific research center in Damascus dependent on the Ministry of Defense was completely destroyedsaid a journalist from the AFP. According to the United States, that facility was linked to Syria’s chemical weapons program.
The OSDH, with a vast network of sources in Syria, recorded “almost 310 bombings” against airports, radars, weapons and ammunition depots or military research centers for “the destruction of weapons” of the previous regime, an ally of Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement.
On the other hand, the Israeli army denied on Tuesday reports about an advance of its tanks towards Damascus.
Meanwhile, in Damascus, the leader of the Syrian rebels, the Islamist Abu Mohamed al Jolani, who for a few days has identified himself with his real name, Ahmed al Chareh, met on Monday with former prime minister Mohamed al Jalali to coordinate the “transfer of power”.
Al Assad fled Syria after the lightning offensive of the rebel coalition led by the Islamist organization Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), which took the capital on Sunday and ended more than five decades of rule by the dynasty founded by the father of Bashar, Hafez al Assad.
Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011.when Al Assad’s government fiercely repressed a wave of peaceful protests, leading to a conflict that left 500,000 dead and forced half the population to flee their homes.
Previously linked to jihadist organizations such as Al Qaeda, Jolani has tried to distance himself from that radical image and has changed his turban and long beard for Western military clothing, but many Western governments continue to consider HTS a “terrorist” group.
However, the UN envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, said on Tuesday that the group had “sent a positive message” to the populationalthough he asked to transform words into actions.
On the eve, the leaders of France and Germany declared also that they were “willing to cooperate with the new leaders”.
Since the fall of Al Assad, thousands of people have gathered in front of the Saydnaya prison, a symbol of the atrocities committed in recent decades, to look for their relatives.
Los White Helmetsa network of rescuers who operated in rebel-controlled areas during the conflict, announced Tuesday that they had completed their inspection of the prison without finding any possible secret cells or basements.
Assad’s government inherited from his father a complex prison system used to repress any dissent to the ruling party.
A rebel fighter revealed to AFP that found about 40 bodies in the morgue of a hospital near Damascus with obvious signs of torture.
Al Jolani announced on Tuesday that he will soon publish a list of the authorities of the previous government “involved in torture against the people” and promised to “persecute war criminals.”
Aida Taha, 65, said that she walked the streets “like a crazy person” in search of her brother, who was arrested in 2012.
“We have been oppressed for a long time,” said the woman, who pointed out that there are still detainees in the basements and that they need the door codes to enter.
According to experts, Al Assad’s government could not sustain itself without the support of its allies, with Russia focused on Ukraine and Iran and Hezbollah worn down by their confrontations with Israel.
The OSDH estimated that at least 910 people, including 138 civilians, have been killed since the start of the rebel offensive on November 27.
Many people gathered in Damascus’ Umayyad Square to celebrate the fall of the regime with the flag of three red stars that represents the opposition.
“We never thought this nightmare would end”said Rim Ramadan, 49.
With the fall of Al Assad, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Italy decided to suspend asylum procedures for Syrian citizens.
The UN stated that whoever ends up in power in Syria must hold the Al Assad regime accountable.
However, it is unclear how Assad would be held accountable, especially after the Kremlin on Monday refused to confirm reports by Russian news agencies that he had fled to Moscow.
(with information from AFP)
