the first plane from Damascus to Aleppo since the fall of Bashar al-Assad took off

A first plane since the fall of Bashar al-Assad on December 8 took off on Wednesday from Damascus airport, heading for Aleppo, in northern Syria, where the coalition offensive started took the reins of the country.

On board were 32 people, including journalists and administrative staff, AFP journalists noted. Former Syrian army and security forces deserted Damascus airport when anti-government forces captured the city on December 8.

A few hours before the fall of Damascus, Bashar al-Assad took a plane from Damascus airport to the Russian base at Hmeimim in western Syria. The Syrian army and its government security forces then deserted the airport, from where no flights had taken off since.

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On Monday, airport employees painted on planes of the private company Cham Wings the three-star flag of Syria’s independence in 1946, a symbol of the popular uprising of 2011 against Bashar al-Assad and adopted by the new power . This flag also replaced the old one in the airport halls.