Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning Photo: fmprc.gov.cn

In response to Israel taking advantage of the chaos to occupy the Golan Heights region of Syria and launching airstrikes on facilities in Damascus, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that China is closely monitoring the situation in Syria and stressed that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria must be respected.

The Israeli military said Sunday that it had taken up new positions in a buffer zone between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights, according to the Times of Israel.

Israel conducted three airstrikes in the Syrian capital on Sunday against a security complex and a government research center which it has said in the past was used by Iran to develop missiles, according to the Reuters.

Strikes could be heard in Damascus in the early hours of Monday morning, according to a CNN team in the Syrian capital.

Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family have arrived in Moscow and have been granted asylum by Russia for humanitarian reasons, local RIA news agency reported Sunday, citing a source from the Kremlin, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Global Times