India directs citizens to leave Syria amid escalating tension

"In view of the situation prevailing in Syria, Indian nationals are advised to avoid all travel to Syria, until further notification," read the advisory issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.

"Indians currently in Syria are requested to remain in touch with 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 Ministry said.

The MEA asked nationals, who are present in the country, to leave Syria by the earliest available commercial flights.

"Those who can, are advised to leave by the earliest available commercial flights and others are requested to observe utmost precaution about their safety and restrict their movements to the minimum," the MEA said.

In Syria, militants took control over Hama city on Thursday, days after taking control over Aleppo.

Aleppo is the second largest city in the country.

More than 280,000 people have been uprooted in northwest Syria in a matter of days following the sudden and massive offensive into Government-controlled areas led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is sanctioned by the Security Council as a terrorist group.

Aid has continued to flow from Türkiye across three border crossings into the embattled northwest and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that it had opened community kitchens in Aleppo and Hama – cities now reportedly occupied by HTS fighters.

In neighbouring Lebanon, senior UN aid official Edem Wosornu expressed deep concerns for the safety of more than 600,000 people who have begun to return to their devastated homes, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah kicked in on 27 November.

“I'm sure they are settling back, the problem is what they would find when they go back home,” she told journalists in Geneva, highlighting the potential dangers from unexploded ordnance.