BEIRUT: Dozens of buses entered Syria’s Daesh-held Raqqa city overnight, an activist group with sources in Raqqa said on Saturday.
Activist group Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently said on its Facebook page it did not know why buses were there but they had “headed from the northern Raqqa countryside toward Raqqa city last night.”
During the more than six-year Syrian conflict, the arrival of buses in a conflict zone has often signaled an evacuation is about to begin.
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, have reached the final stages of a battle to drive surrounded Daesh militants from their last Raqqa positions.
The SDF could not be immediately reached for comment.
In August, Daesh fighters agreed to be evacuated from a Lebanon-Syria border area, the first time the militants had publicly agreed to a forced evacuation from territory it held in Syria.
Civilians have been making perilous journeys to escape the Daesh-held areas as SDF forces advance. The SDF says it helps transport them away from the fighting after they flee.
The offensive to drive Daesh out of Raqqa, its de facto Syrian capital which it seized in 2014, has long outlasted initial predictions by SDF officials who said ahead of a final assault in June that it could take just weeks.
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A Syrian presidency statement said the two sides discussed cooperation, including on reconstruction, as well as “humanitarian matters and the refugee issue in Europe.”
On Thursday, a joint EU-Jordan statement issued on the eve of the EU leaders’ arrival in Damascus said that “we will continue working together in support of a peaceful and inclusive Syrian-led and Syrian-owned transition.”
Syria is struggling to forge a new path after years of war sparked by a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011.
Sharaa, who is seeking to extend state authority across the whole country, has come under pressure to protect Syria’s many minority communities, including the Kurds.
Several EU officials have visited Syria since Assad’s ouster by Sharaa’s forces more than a year ago, and the EU has removed economic sanctions in place under Assad.
In March, the EU pledged nearly 2.5 billion euros in aid for Syria for 2025 and 2026.
Von der Leyen and Costa were also visiting Lebanon on Friday.
Activists say dozens of buses enter Syria’s Raqqa as battle with Daesh nears end
Activists say dozens of buses enter Syria’s Raqqa as battle with Daesh nears end
EU chief von der Leyen says Europe to do ‘everything it can’ to support Syria
- “Europe will do everything it can to support Syria’s recovery and reconstruction,” von der Leyen said
- A Syrian presidency statement said the two sides discussed cooperation, including on reconstruction
DAMASCUS: European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Europe would do everything possible to assist Syria’s recovery and reconstruction, after meeting President Ahmed Al-Sharaa on Friday in Damascus.
Von der Leyen, the highest-ranking EU official to visit since longtime ruler Bashar Assad was ousted in December 2024, is on a regional tour alongside Antonio Costa, who heads the European Council.
Their visit comes as days of deadly clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have rocked the north Syrian city of Aleppo.
“Europe will do everything it can to support Syria’s recovery and reconstruction,” von der Leyen said on X.
A Syrian presidency statement said the two sides discussed cooperation, including on reconstruction, as well as “humanitarian matters and the refugee issue in Europe.”
On Thursday, a joint EU-Jordan statement issued on the eve of the EU leaders’ arrival in Damascus said that “we will continue working together in support of a peaceful and inclusive Syrian-led and Syrian-owned transition.”
Syria is struggling to forge a new path after years of war sparked by a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011.
Sharaa, who is seeking to extend state authority across the whole country, has come under pressure to protect Syria’s many minority communities, including the Kurds.
Several EU officials have visited Syria since Assad’s ouster by Sharaa’s forces more than a year ago, and the EU has removed economic sanctions in place under Assad.
In March, the EU pledged nearly 2.5 billion euros in aid for Syria for 2025 and 2026.
Von der Leyen and Costa were also visiting Lebanon on Friday.
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