Ottawa urges Canadians to avoid travel to Syria and consider leaving the country if it is safe to do so.

Updated travel advice warns people to avoid the Middle Eastern country due to what the Canadian government calls “ongoing armed conflict, terrorism, criminality, arbitrary detention, torture and enforced disappearances.”

This update comes after the opposition forces entered the Syrian capital, Damascus, ending half a century of rule by the Assad government.

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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled the country on Sunday, bringing a dramatic end to his nearly 14-year struggle to cling to power as his country fragmented into a brutal civil war.

Canada has urged its citizens to leave Syria since November 2011, and its embassy in Damascus suspended operations in 2012.

Ottawa describes the security situation as volatile, and says that Damascus and Aleppo airports and some border crossings are closed.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 8, 2024.

—With files from The Associated Press