TOPSHOT - Syrian Kurdish gunmen control the area around Qamishli's airport in northeastern Syria on December 8, 2024, following the fall of the capital Damascus to anti-government fighters. Islamist-led rebels declared that they have taken Damascus in a lightning offensive on December 8, sending President Bashar al-Assad fleeing and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP)