ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Damascus International Airport lies in disarray, with abandoned planes on the runway and no visible activity, following the takeover of the Syrian capital by rebel groups with ongoing talks to resume operations. “Some of the windows of the building are broken, and the planes are all left like this. No one can be seen here,” said Halkawt Aziz, Rudaw’s reporter standing at the airport with planes abandoned on the runway behind him. Syrian Air and Cham Wing Airline, the primary carriers, have left the facility, leaving behind their planes. Aziz added that HTS fighters have restricted access to the airport, with discussions ongoing with authorities and the former management under ousted President Bashar al-Assad. Syria’s civil war dramatically reignited late last month when a coalition of rebels led by the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched a blistering offensive against the Syrian army, seizing the northern cities of Aleppo, Hama, and Homs, and ultimately capturing the capital Damascus as rebels said Assad fled the country, ending over five decades of Baathist rule. After taking over Damascus, HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani ordered his forces not to approach any official institutions in the capital and declared that these institutions will remain under the supervision of Assad’s Prime Minister Mohammed al-Jalali until their official handover. Aziz noted that the recent bombardment by Israel, targeting military equipment and bases within the airport, has also contributed to the stillness in the airport. Israel has carried out over 350 airstrikes on military sites of the former regime since its collapse earlier this week, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, The strikes are an attempt to destroy Syria’s military stockpiles. It has also sent troops marching across the border into a buffer zone east of the annexed Golan Heights, a move condemned by Arab countries and the United Nations.
