(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 8 - Italy's ambassador to Syria and its diplomatic staff at the embassy in Damascus were untouched by rebels who searched the building for regime men early Sunday after sweeping Bashar al-Assad and his brutal regime from power, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said.
    "This morning an armed group entered the garden of the ambassador's residence. They took away only 3 cars and that was it. Neither the ambassador nor the carabinieri were touched", he said.
    Tajani, who is also deputy premier, added that on the matter, "since the early hours I have been in contact with (Defence) Minister (Guido) Crosetto and the Prime Minister (Giorgia Meloni)".
    Safeguarding Italian citizens in Syria remains a priority, Tajani stressed after a meeting of the foreign ministry crisis unit at the Farnesina in Rome.
    "It seems to me that it is still unclear who will ultimately manage Syria because it is not a single force, there are multiple forces and now we will see if it will be possible to talk to the new forces that are arriving", but in any case "the priority is to protect our fellow citizens", Tajani said.
    "At this moment, before anything else, we are concerned with ensuring the safety of all those who are present in Syria, the ambassador, the Carabinieri and even the contractors who work for the diplomatic headquarters, then we will see what the situation will be. We will move in harmony with our interlocutors.
    "It is a situation in constant movement.
    "Even compared to the Astana meeting yesterday and this morning, things have changed.
    "We continue to monitor the situation with all our embassies and in constant contact with Palazzo Chigi (Meloni's office) and the Ministry of Defense".
    First comes the "protection of our citizens, then we will talk about the structure of Syria", he added.
    Some 15 Italian citizens have crossed the border from Syria into Lebanon, others went to Jordan, and at the moment no others want to leave the country, Tajani told the press conference after the crisis unit meeting.
    "15 of our compatriots have crossed the border with Lebanon and are now in Beirut in some convents. Yesterday others had arrived in Jordan", he said.
    "There are no other Italian citizens asking to leave the country. The advice the embassy gave is to stay at home".
    As for the Italians in Aleppo, "at this moment they are calm because the situation is stable. Among those who are in Damascus, those who wanted to leave the city have done so, those who wanted to stay have stayed", explained Tajani, adding that "naturally we are ready to do whatever is necessary".
    Tajani added that he had spoken to Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, stressing the importance of preserving the territorial unity of Syria.
    "I also had a long conversation with Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan, we agreed on the importance of preserving the unity of Syria.
    "I reiterated my requests to do everything to guarantee the safety of Italian citizens and the protection of minorities, the Christian one and the others. "I heard him rather optimistic about the evolution of the situation, at least as far as general security is concerned".
    Tajani underlined that his Turkish counterpart "appreciated the Italian diplomatic presence in Damascus and reiterated to me that it is important for Turkey that an Italian diplomatic presence remains in Damascus for the future.
    "And Turkey is ready to collaborate with Italy from a diplomatic point of view to guarantee stability in the Middle East area".
    Italian special forces and strategic assets of the defense ministry are on alert for a possible exfiltration operation of the Italian personnel remaining in Syria, sources at the Ministry of Defense, told ANSA.
    Any line of action will be adopted for the security and safety of Italian diplomatic staff and their possible exfiltration, should the situation degenerate further, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told ANSA.
    "We have given our availability for any type of eventuality and for now, like all other nations, not only European and international, we are evaluating every possible line of action to guarantee the safety of Italian personnel and their possible exfiltration, should the situation degenerate further and become extremely dangerous and chaotic", Crosetto told ANSA.
    Together with the Chief of Defense Staff and the joint operational commander, in coordination with the Farnesina and Palazzo Chigi, he said he is constantly monitoring the situation in Syria.
    Damascus is in the hands of the Islamist-led rebels who have announced the beginning of a "new era" in Syria after 50 years of Baath Party rule.
    A 13-hour curfew has been declared.
    "The future is ours," the leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Islamist group, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, said on TV after arriving in the capital and kissing the ground.
    Moscow confirmed Assad has left Syria after resigning as president.
    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejoiced over Assad's fall, saying "He was a link in the chain of evil." Bashir, an eye doctor manquè, had been in power for 24 years since the death of his father Hafez.
    He infamously used chemical weapons against insurgents, as well as barrel bombs, in the long civil war.
    Assad is the last strongman whose reign was ended by the Arab Spring, after Tunisia's Zine el-Abdine Ben Ali, Libya's Muammar Gheddafi, Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and Yemen's Abdallah Saleh.
    The rebels' lightning triumph has spurred fears of a fresh migrant exodus but many Syrians are also hoping to return home.
    However, Lebanon and Jordan have already closed their borders.
    Crosetto said a new wave of Syrian migrants might head for Italy along the Balkan Route.
    The Islamist liberation of Damascus, helped by Turkey, is a major blow to Moscow and Tehran.
    Other groups, including Kurds and ISIS, control other parts of the country. (ANSA).