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09-12-2024
DAMASCUS: Syrian rebels have declared the capital Damascus “free” after entering the city to scant resistance from regime forces, while claiming President Bashar al-Assad has fled the capital, losing his decades-long grip on power.
“We declare the city of Damascus free from the tyrant Bashar al-Assad,” the Military Operations Command wrote in a post on Telegram on Sunday.
“To the displaced all over the world, a free Syria awaits you,” the statement added.
The removal of Assad who has not been heard from since the rebels’ claim would bring an end to more than 50 years of his family’s autocratic rule of the nation of about 23 million, which has been buffeted and fractured by more than a decade of civil war.
Footage shared on social media and verified by media showed people celebrating in Syria’s second-largest city Aleppo, as word spread of Assad fleeing Damascus. Aleppo fell to the rebels just over a week ago, as they launched a surprise lightning offensive which has since swept several major cities.
The sheer speed of the advance by rebels has caught much of the world off guard and brought about a stunning reordering of power in a Middle Eastern nation that has long been at the crossroads of a regional power struggle. Both Iran and Russia were supporters of the Assad regime and helped keep him in power during a grueling civil war that sparked one of the world’s largest recent refugee crises.
The potential toppling of the Iran-backed Assad would follow the decimation of key Tehran proxies Hezbollah and Hamas in conflicts with Israel over the past 14 months.
One US official told CNN that what is happening is the collapse of “Iran’s artifice” across the Middle East: Hezbollah and Hamas have been decimated and now Assad’s regime has collapsed.
NSC spokesperson Sean Savett wrote on X; “President Biden and his team are closely monitoring the extraordinary events in Syria and staying in constant touch with regional partners.”
Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said the government stood ready “to cooperate with any leadership the people choose,” in a recorded message on Sunday morning.
“We are ready to cooperate with any leadership the people choose, offering all possible support to ensure a smooth and systematic transition of government functions, preserving state facilities,” he said.
Jalali also called on Syrians to protect public facilities, saying they belonged to all citizens. The militant leader of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), the main group driving the country’s armed opposition, released a statement calling on rebel forces to leave state institutions unharmed.
“To all military forces in the city of Damascus, it is strictly forbidden to approach public institutions, which will remain under the supervision of the former Prime Minister until they are officially handed over, and it is also forbidden to fire bullets into the air,” Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, wrote on Telegram. The rebels earlier claimed to have entered the capital and taken control of the notorious Saydnaya Military Prison north of Damascus.
By early Sunday morning, a source familiar with the rebels’ advance told media that “Militarily, Damascus has fallen.”
Hours before, HTS said it had “fully liberated” the major city of Homs, north of the capital. Syrians were seen tearing down and setting fire to posters of Assad after rebels had entered the city, in scenes reminiscent of pro-democracy protests in the city during the Arab Spring more than a decade ago. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
