On Friday, the Indian government issued a travel advisory for Syria, urging all Indian citizens to avoid travelling there until further notice due to the current situation in the country, which poses serious risks to travellers. 

"In view of the situation prevailing in Syria, Indian nationals are advised to avoid all travel to Syria, until further notification," the Ministry of External Affairs stated in a press release. Indians now in Syria are requested to stay in contact with the Indian Embassy in Damascus via their email address, hoc.damascus@mea.gov.in, and emergency helpline number, also available on WhatsApp. According to the MEA announcement, those who can go should do so as soon as possible on commercial flights, while others are asked to take every safety precaution and limit their mobility.

Notably, India's Ministry of External Affairs stated on Friday that it had taken note of the violent escalation in Syria while considering the safety of Indian citizens there. According to MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, there are approximately 90 Indian nationals in Syria, 14 of them are employed by different UN agencies. "We have taken note of the recent escalation in fighting in the north of Syria. We are closely following the situation. There are about 90 Indian nationals in Syria, including 14 who are working in various UN organisations. Our Mission remains in close contact with our nationals for their safety and security," Jaiswal said in a press briefing on Friday. 

The recent violent offensive by Syrian rebels has brought the civil war back to life, which had been mostly quiet since 2020, according to CNN. Before this, the front lines had stayed mostly the same, with rebels limited to a small area in Idlib province. As the rebels moved south toward the capital, Damascus, hundreds of people fled Homs, a central Syrian city, on Friday. After taking Hama to the north on Thursday, the rebels aimed for Homs. If they capture it, it would divide President Bashar al-Assad’s controlled territories into two parts. The year 2011 saw the start of the conflict when Assad took action to put an end to nonviolent pro-democracy demonstrations during the Arab Spring. In more than ten years of conflict, the United Nations reports that over 3,000 civilians have died. The CNN reports that millions more have been displaced throughout the region.