Syrian government forces withdrew from a number of Damascus suburbs where opposition protests broke out on Saturday, according to war monitoring organisations, the New York Times reported. Government forces have withdrawn from several suburbs of Damascus, including Moadamia al-Sham and Daraya, as well as the neighbouring Mezzeh military airport, according to the British-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the New York Times reported.

Meanwhile, following a meeting with his Turkish and Iranian counterparts in Qatar on Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Russia, Turkey, and Iran called for a "dialogue between the government and the legal opposition." However, he said that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamist organisation leading the rebel attack, should not be included in those discussions. Lavrov stated, "It is unacceptable to allow a terrorist group to take control of territories," TASS reported.