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Syrian army announces end of Assad regime
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Assad boards plane and leaves Damascus – army
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Assad's destination is unknown – army
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The rebels entered Damascus
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Thousands celebrate 'freedom' in Damascus
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par Suleiman Al-Khalidi, Timour Azhari et Jaida Taha
Syrian rebels announced on state television on Sunday that they had put an end to the regime of Bashar al Assad, in power for 24 years, following a lightning offensive.
The Syrian army command informed its officers on Sunday of the end of Bashar al Assad's regime, a Syrian officer who had been informed of the decision told Reuters.
But the Syrian army later said it was continuing its operations against “terrorist groups” in the strategic cities of Hama and Homs and in Daraa province.
Bashar al Assad, who had crushed all forms of dissent in his country, left Damascus by plane for an unknown destination on Sunday, two senior army officers told Reuters, while the rebels for their part claimed having entered the capital without any sign of army deployment.
“We celebrate with the Syrian people the news of the release of our prisoners and their chains and the announcement of the end of the era of injustice in Sednaya prison,” the rebels said, referring to a large military prison on the outskirts of Damascus where the Syrian government has detained thousands of people.
Thousands of people in cars and on foot gathered in a main square in Damascus, waving signs and chanting “Freedom” after half a century of Assad family rule, according to witnesses.
This spectacular collapse marks a turning point for the Middle East: it puts an end to the unchallenged rule of the Assad family over Syria and constitutes a hard blow for Russia and Iran, two countries which supported the regime of Bashar al Assad .
STUPEFACTION IN ARAB CAPITALS
Developments in Syria have caused astonishment in Arab capitals and raised fears of a new wave of regional instability.
It marks a turning point for Syria, ravaged by more than 13 years of war which reduced cities to ruins, caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and forced millions of others to take refuge abroad.
Stabilization of western areas of Syria conquered by rebels will be essential. Western governments, which have stayed away from Bashar al Assad's regime, must now decide how to deal with a new administration in which the Hayat Tahrir al Cham (HTC) group, the former Syrian branch of Al Qaeda appears to have influence.
HTC, which spearheaded the rebel advance into western Syria, was previously known as the Nusra Front until its leader, Abu Mohammed al Golani, severed ties with the jihadist movement in 2016.
“The real question is how orderly this transition will be, and it seems pretty clear that Golani very much wants it to be,” said Joshua Landis, a Syria specialist and director of the Center for Middle East Studies. -Orient at the University of Oklahoma.
Abu Mohammed al Golani does not want a repeat of the chaos that swept Iraq after US-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. “They are going to have to rebuild… they will need that “Europe and the United States are lifting sanctions,” explained Joshua Landis.
HTC is Syria's most powerful rebel group and some Syrians fear it will impose draconian Islamist rule.
HIGH LIKELIHOOD THAT BACHAR AL ASSAD HAS BEEN KILLED
A Syrian Air plane took off from Damascus airport around the time the capital was reportedly taken by rebels, according to data from the Flightradar website.
The plane first headed towards the coastal region of Syria, stronghold of the Alawite minority of the Assad clan, then abruptly turned around and flew in the opposite direction for a few minutes before disappearing from the map .
Reuters was not immediately able to determine who was on board the plane.
Two Syrian sources said there was a very high probability that Bashar al Assad was killed in a plane crash, as the reason the plane abruptly turned around and disappeared from the map, according to data from the Flightradar site remains a mystery.
“It disappeared from the radar, the transponder may have been deactivated, but I think the greatest probability is that the plane was shot down (…),” said a Syrian source without further details.
As Syrians expressed their joy, Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al Jalali said he was ready to support the continuity of governance and cooperate with any leader chosen by the Syrian people.
US President Joe Biden and his team are monitoring the “extraordinary events in Syria” and are in contact with regional partners, the White House said.
The civil war in Syria, which erupted in 2011 as an uprising against the regime of Bashar al Assad, led to the intervention of major external powers, created space for jihadist militants to prepare attacks around the world entire and caused an influx of millions of refugees into neighboring states.
The front lines of Syria's civil war have remained inactive for years. Then Islamists formerly affiliated with Al Qaeda suddenly sprang into action, posing a major challenge to Bashar al Assad, who had survived years of war and international isolation with the help of Russia, Iran and Iran. Lebanese Hezbollah.
Bashar al Assad's allies, focused on other conflicts and weakened by various crises, have left the Syrian leader at the mercy of his adversaries with an army ill-prepared for a rebel offensive.
QUESTIONS TO COME
Israel, which has significantly weakened Iran-backed groups Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, should welcome the fall of Bashar al Assad. But the prospect of an Islamist group ruling Syria will likely raise concerns.
Thousands of residents of Homs took to the streets after the army withdrew from the central city, dancing and singing “Assad is gone, Homs is free” and “Long live Syria and down with Bashar al Assad “.
Rebels fired shots into the air in celebration and young people tore down posters of the Syrian president.
The fall of Homs allowed insurgents to control Syria's strategic heart and a key road junction, cutting off Damascus from its coastal region where Russia has a naval base (Tartous) and an air base (Hmeimim near Latakia).
The capture of Homs is also a strong symbol of the spectacular return of the rebel movement. Swathes of Homs were destroyed in a grueling siege war between rebels and the army several years ago. The fighting pushed back the insurgents, who were driven out.
The rebels freed thousands of inmates from the city's prison. The security forces hastily left the scene after burning their documents.
“We are witnessing historic moments in Syria with the fall of the authoritarian regime in Damascus,” the leader of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Abdi, told the X network on Sunday.
“This change offers the opportunity to build a new Syria based on democracy and justice, guaranteeing the rights of all Syrians,” he continued.
(Reporting Suleiman al-Khalidi in Damascus, Timour Azhari in Beirut, Jaidaa Taha and Adam Makary in Cairo, Clauda Tanios and Nadine Awadallah in Dubai; Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; writing by Angus McDowall, Matt Spetalnick, Michael Perry and Michael Georgy; French version Claude Chendjou)
