The Syrian army command has informed officers that President Bashar al-Assad’s government has fallen after a lightning strike by rebels, a Syrian officer briefed on the move said. Reuters.
Syrian rebels said Damascus was “now free from Assad”.
Earlier on Sunday, Assad left Damascus for an undisclosed destination, two senior military officers said ReutersAs the rebels said, they entered the capital without deploying troops.
Witnesses said thousands in vehicles and on foot gathered in a central square in Damascus, waving and chanting “freedom”.
“We celebrate with the Syrian people the release of our prisoners and the release of their chains and the end of the cycle of injustice in Saidnaya prison,” the rebels said.
Sednaya is a large military prison on the outskirts of Damascus where thousands of people are detained by the Syrian government.
According to data from the FlightReader website, the Syrian Air plane took off from Damascus airport when it was reported that the capital had been taken by rebels.
The plane initially flew towards the Syrian coast, a stronghold of Assad’s supporters, but then made a sudden U-turn and flew in the opposite direction for a few minutes before disappearing from the map.
Reuters It was not immediately known who was on board.
Hadi al-Bahra Shami, head of Syria’s main opposition group abroad, also announced Sunday that Damascus was now “without Bashar al-Assad.”
Meanwhile, Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said he was ready to support the continuity of rule and to cooperate with any leadership chosen by the Syrian people.
Hours earlier, rebels announced they had taken full control of the key city of Homs after just a day of fighting, leaving Assad’s 24-year rule hanging by a thread.
After the army withdrew from the central city, thousands of Homs residents took to the streets, dancing and chanting, “Assad is gone, Homs is free” and “Long live Syria and Bashar al-Assad.”
Rebels fired into the air in celebration, and youths tore down posters of the Syrian president, whose territorial control has been eroded by a week-long army retreat.
The fall of Homs gave the rebels control of Syria’s strategic center and a key highway junction, which separates Damascus from the coastal region that is a stronghold of Assad’s supporters and where his Russian allies have a naval base and an air base. is
The capture of Homs is also a powerful sign of the rebel movement’s dramatic comeback in the 13-year-old conflict. Swat in Homs was destroyed years ago in a fierce siege war between rebels and the army. The battle ground below the rebels, who were forced out.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham commander Abu Muhammad al-Golani, a key rebel leader, called the capture of Homs a historic moment and urged fighters not to harm “throwers”.
The rebels freed thousands of prisoners from the city jail. The security forces hurriedly left after burning their documents.
Syrian rebel commander Hassan Abdel Ghani said in a statement early Sunday that an operation to “fully liberate” the countryside around Damascus was underway and that rebel forces were eyeing the capital.
In one suburb, a statue of Bashar al-Assad’s father, the late President Hafez al-Assad, was toppled and broken.
Outside the city, the rebels had infiltrated the entire southwest within 24 hours and established control.
An existential threat to Assad’s rule
The pace of events has stunned Arab capitals and raised fears of a new wave of regional instability.
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Russia issued a joint statement calling the crisis a dangerous development and calling for a political solution.
Syria’s civil war, which began as an uprising against the rule of Bashar al-Assad in 2011, has drawn in major outside powers, created space for rebel and militant groups to plan attacks around the world, and killed millions. Refugees sent to neighboring states.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the strongest rebel group, is a former al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria that the United States and others consider a terrorist organization, and many Syrians fear it will impose harsh rule.
Golani has tried to reassure minorities that he will not interfere with them and the international community that they oppose attacks abroad. In Aleppo, which the rebels captured a week ago, there have been no reports of retaliation.
When asked on Saturday if he believed Golani, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov replied, “Eat proof”.
Allied support for Assad
Assad has long relied on allies to quell the rebels. Russian warplanes carried out the bombing while coalition forces, including Hezbollah and an Iraqi armed group, were reinforcing the Syrian army to attack rebel strongholds.
But Russia has been focused on the war in Ukraine since 2022, and Hezbollah has also suffered losses in its own war in the Middle East, significantly limiting its or Iran’s ability to bolster Assad. is
US President-elect Donald Trump has said the US should not get involved in the conflict and “let it play out”.