India evacuates 75 of its citizens as rebels take over Syria

The Ministry of External Affairs said that the Indian nationals safely crossed over to Lebanon and will return by available commercial flights to India.

Opposition fighters celebrate as they burn down a military court in Damascus, Syria. (AP Photo)

India evacuated 75 of its citizens from Syria, including pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir, as Islamist rebels captured power in Damascus and President Bashar Al Assad fled the country.

This is a signal towards Indian government’s assessment of the security and political situation in Syria.

The Ministry of External Affairs said that the Indian nationals safely crossed over to Lebanon and will return by available commercial flights to India.

A statement from MEA said informed that the evacuation was “following recent developments in that country”.

“The evacuees included 44 ‘zaireen’ from Jammu & Kashmir who were stranded at Saida Zainab. All Indian nationals have safely crossed over to Lebanon and will return by available commercial flights to India,” it said.

It added that the evacuation, coordinated by the embassies of India in Damascus and Beirut, was put into effect following “our assessment of the security situation and requests from Indian nationals in Syria”. This is the first security assessment of the internal situation of Syria.

“The Government of India accords the highest priority to the safety and security of Indian nationals abroad. Indian nationals remaining in Syria are advised to stay in touch with the Indian Embassy in Damascus at their emergency helpline number +963 993385973 (also on WhatsApp) and email ID (hoc.damascus@mea.gov.in) for updates. The Government will continue to monitor the situation closely,” the statement read.

What has happened in Syria?

A civil war and 14 days are all it took for President Assad’s government to fall. Late in November, developments in Syria had caused alarm when an armed set of forces comprising the Syrian opposition began gaining ground in major cities one by one in the next few days. On Sunday (December 8), the Assad government, whose Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party had been in power since the 1960s, fell.

Assad, ruling the country since 2000, having inherited the legacy from his father Hafez al-Assad since 1971, was forced to flee the country as the Islamist rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham marched into the Syrian capital.

In a statement aired on Syrian state television, a group of opposition fighters said they have “liberated” Damascus and overthrown the “tyrant al-Assad,” adding that all detainees held in the regime’s prisons have been released.

HTS’s al-Jawlani has, so far, tried to assuage the fears of the minorities. On November 29, he told soldiers, after the takeover of Aleppo, the “first priority is to protect the property and lives of civilians and to establish security and calm the fears of people from all sects”.