(LONDON) — Syrian rebels have reportedly breached the city of Aleppo itself, according to open source analysts and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, as thousands of insurgent fighters make startling advances in their surprise offensive against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in northwestern Syria.
Videos circulating online appear to show rebels in the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city. The rebels launched a major offensive three days ago and since then have moved swiftly towards Aleppo, capturing swathes of countryside and villages.
The offensive reignites the frontline in Syria for the first time in years and the Assad regime and its allies Russia and Hezbollah appear to be struggling to hold it back.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported heavy fighting between regime forces and the rebels, led by the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which controls the rebel holdout of the neighboring Idlib province.
Although Syria’s civil war never ended, the frontlines have been largely frozen for years, while Russia and the regime continued to bomb rebel areas.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Mexico is developing a cellphone app that will allow migrants to inform family members and local consulates if they think they are about to be detained in the United States, the country’s secretary of foreign affairs announced on Friday.
The app is expected to become available in January as President-elect Donald Trump, who has pledged to launch mass deportations of migrants living in the U.S. without legal permission on Day 1 of his second term, takes office.
The app — dubbed Alert Button — will allow nationals who think they are about to be detained to notify the “consulate closest to their location about situations of imminent detention, notify family members who have previously been selected, as well as report to the Foreign Affairs Secretary,” Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release.
The app was developed with the Mexican Digital Transformation Agency for “emergency cases,” Juan Ramón de la Fuente, Mexico’s secretary of foreign affairs, said.
De la Fuente outlined other protective measures ahead of Mexican nationals’ possible detention under the incoming Trump administration.
“The foreign affairs secretary was emphatic in pointing out that to deport someone from the United States you need a court order, a final sentence of deportation or removal, and that is where the consular team will be very aware that due process is complied with,” the release said.
Trump has repeatedly pledged to get started on mass deportations as soon as he enters office.
He’s tapped several immigration hard-liners to serve in key Cabinet positions, including former Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tom Homan as “border czar.”
Homan previously discussed his vision for mass deportations, saying they would first concentrate on expelling criminals and national security threats. He didn’t rule out deporting families together.
An estimated 11.7 million unauthorized migrants are living in the U.S. without legal immigration status, including about 4.6 million from Mexico, as of July 2023, according to the Center for Migration Studies.
(LONDON) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared an “emergency martial law” in a televised speech on Tuesday, the Yonhap news agency reported.
Yoon said the measure was necessary due to the actions of the country’s opposition, which he accused of controlling parliament, sympathizing with North Korea and paralyzing the government.
“I declare martial law in order to eradicate the shameless pro-North Korea anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people and to protect the free constitutional order,” Yoon said, as quoted by ABC News editorial partner KBS.
Hours after the declaration, the National Assembly voted early Wednesday morning demanding that the president lift the martial law order. A majority voted to lift it.
Explaining his decision, Yoon accused the opposition-dominated parliament of “paralyzing” judicial affairs and the administration via 22 proposed cases of impeachment issued since the body convened in June.
Yoon’s conservative People Power Party has been locked in a fierce budget dispute with the liberal opposition Democratic Party.
“The handling of the national budget also cut all major budgets to have control over the essential functions of the state, the budget that was formed to crack down on drug crimes and maintain public security,” Yoon said Tuesday. “This undermines the essential functions of the state and leaves the public in a drug paradise and public security panic.”
“The National Assembly, which should be the basis of liberal democracy, has become a monster that collapses the liberal democracy system,” he added.
The Democratic Party responded by calling on its lawmakers to assemble at the National Assembly building in Seoul, Yonhap reported. Party leader Lee Jae-myung said Yoon’s martial law declaration was an “unconstitutional” measure that “goes against the people.”
“President Yoon declared emergency martial law for no reason,” Lee said, as quoted by Yonhap. “Tanks, armored vehicles and soldiers with guns and swords will soon control the country.”
Police and soldiers gathered around the National Assembly on Tuesday night after Yoon spoke. Footage from the scene also showed crowds descending on the building, some people making their way inside. Yonhap reported clashes between security personnel and National Assembly staffers as the former tried to enter the building.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon — a member of Yoon’s People Power Party — was among those who called for an immediate reversal of the declaration. “As mayor, I will do my best to protect the daily lives of citizens,” he added in a post to Facebook.
President Joe Biden’s administration is “in contact with” the South Korean government and is “monitoring the situation closely” following Yoon’s declaration, a White House National Security Council spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.
The spokesperson did not provide any further details, including whether Biden had been briefed on the matter.
Tuesday’s declaration is the first since the country’s democratization in 1987. Martial law was last declared in 1979 after the assassination of dictator Park Chung Hee.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Fritz Farrow contributed to this report.
Rescuers of the State Emergency Service work to put out a fire in a private house after a drone strike in Kharkiv, on December 25, 2024, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. (Photo by SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Ukrainians faced fresh Russian drone and missile strikes on energy infrastructure nationwide on Tuesday night into Christmas Day morning, with the energy minister in Kyiv warning of immediate power cuts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram, “Every Russian massive strike takes time to prepare. It is never a spontaneous decision. It is a conscious choice not only of targets, but also of time and date.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelenskyy said, “deliberately chose Christmas for an attack. What could be more inhuman? More than 70 missiles, including ballistic ones, and more than a hundred strike drones. The targets are our energy sector. They continue to fight for a blackout in Ukraine.”
“According to preliminary data, our defenders managed to shoot down more than 50 missiles and a significant part of the drones,” Zelenskyy said. “Unfortunately, there are hits. As of now, there are outages in several regions. Energy workers are working to restore the power supply as soon as possible.”
Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired 78 missiles of various types into the country, of which 59 were shot down. Russia also launched 106 strike drones, of which 54 were shot down and 52 were lost in flight, the air force added.
“The enemy attacks energy again massively,” Energy Minister German Galushchenko wrote in a statement posted to Facebook early Wednesday. Grid operators, he added, were implementing “necessary consumption restriction measures to minimize negative consequences for the energy system.”
When the security situation allows, “the power companies will specify the damage caused,” Galushchenko added. “Stay tuned for official announcements. While the danger lasts — stay in shelters!”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a statement posted to X, “This Christmas terror is Putin’s response to those who spoke about illusionary ‘Christmas ceasefire’.”
“One Russian missile passed Moldovan and Romanian airspace, reminding that Russia threatens not only Ukraine,” Sybiha added.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement posted to Telegram that it “carried out a massive strike with long-range precision weapons and strike drones on critical energy infrastructure facilities in Ukraine that ensure the operation of the military-industrial complex.”
“The strike’s goal was achieved,” the ministry said. “All facilities were hit.”
The ministry said its forces also shot down 59 Ukrainian drones overnight.
This year is the second in which Ukraine will officially celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25. Previously, many Ukrainians celebrated Christmas in January per the Orthodox calendar, as Russian Orthodox adherents still do.
“For the second time, we celebrate Christmas on the same date as one big family, one country,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram on Tuesday. “For the second time in modern history, Christmas unites all Ukrainians.”
“Today, we stand side by side, and we will not be lost,” Zelenskyy added. “In person, from afar, or in our hearts — Ukrainians are together today. And as long as we do this, evil has no chance.”
