(Image source from: Ndtv.com)

Concerned about the deteriorating situation in Syria, the Indian government late last night advised all Indian citizens to “completely avoid travel to Syria until further notice.” In a statement providing emergency numbers and email IDs, the Ministry of External Affairs asked all Indian nationals currently in Syria to "contact the Indian Embassy in Damascus." New Delhi's emergency notification also said: "Persons who are able to do so are advised to depart (Syria) on the first available commercial flight." The council urges those unable to do so to "take minimum safety precautions and limit travel to a minimum." The common emergency number of the Indian Embassy in Damascus is +963 993385973. This number can also be accessed on WhatsApp will be used to read the declaration and emergency email ID (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) will also be added. The advisory states that employees will be contacted and updates will be shared.

Syria is in the midst of political unrest, and Russia and the Iranian-backed government of Bashar al-Assad are under siege from Turkish-backed rebels and militias. Last week, rebels launched lightning strikes across Syria in an attempt to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. War observers reported to the AFP news agency that rebels led by Islamists were at the gates of Homs, Syria. Several other cities in Syria lie outside government control, and in some cities not even a shot is fired. The Islamic insurgents' offensive has been so rapid that Syria's second-largest city, Aleppo, and the strategically located Hama are already beyond the control of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. This is the first time since the civil war began in 2011. Bashar al-Assad's family has ruled Syria for 50 years, but this is the first time the country is on the brink of total collapse. If the rebels capture Homs, the seat of power in the capital Damascus, Bashar al-Assad's most important stronghold, would be cut off from the Mediterranean coast. According to observers from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Islamic rebels had moved five kilometers from the outskirts of Homs on Friday morning (local time).

Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the leader of the Tahrir al-Sham (HTS rebel coalition), said the attack was aimed at overthrowing Bashar al-Assad and ending his rule in Syria. Jolani said in an interview with CNN: If we talk about goals, the goal of the revolution remains the overthrow of this regime. The Islamic rebel coalition, which has been carrying out attacks since November 27 and is led by HTS, an affiliate of al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, has recently tried to downplay its image. Abu Muhammad al-Jolani is also known as the “blue-eyed boy” of IS terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. A few years ago he was in the infamous US internment camp in Iraq. But once considered a lost cause for the United States, al-Julani has now emerged from the shadows. Now he is in power in Syria. It is interesting to note that the Islamic rebels came into force on the same day as the ceasefire in the war between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah, which, along with Russia and Iran, has staunchly supported the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Turkey, which has declared its full support for the rebels, said on Friday that Iranian Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will meet with the foreign ministers of Russia and Iran in Qatar this weekend for urgent talks on the situation in Syria. Meanwhile, the political wing of the HTS-led rebel coalition has reportedly turned to Russia and China to support the "fight for the liberation" of Syria's decades-old regime led by Bashar al-Assad. They have reportedly told Moscow and China that they want to establish formal diplomatic relations with both countries. The foreign ministers of Iran, Iraq and Syria also met in Baghdad on Friday and discussed the situation in Syria. Russia, which has invested heavily in the war in Ukraine, has not yet made clear how it views the situation and what its next steps will be, but the Russian government is trying to protect itself from the rebels by attacking Bashar.