Bashar al-Assad and his family are in Moscow which has granted them “asylum”, according to Russian news agencies

On the run after the lightning offensive by Syrian rebels, who seized Damascus overnight from Saturday to Sunday, Bashar al-Assad and his family are in Moscow, Russian news agencies announced Sunday evening, citing a source. in the Kremlin.

“Assad and his family members have arrived in Moscow. Russia, based on humanitarian considerations, granted them asylum”this source told the public news agencies TASS and Ria Novosti. The Syrian leader left Damascus by plane on Saturday evening after the rebels managed to reach the capital.

Main ally of the Syrian regime, Russia announced that it had requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council for Monday. “In connection with the latest events in Syria, the depth and consequences of which for this country and the entire region have not yet been measured, Russia requested urgent closed-door consultations of the UN Security Council united »Russia’s deputy representative to the UN, Dmitri Polianski, said on Telegram.

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Since the start of the rebel offensive on November 27, more than 900 people, including 138 civilians, have been killed. “As a result of the fighting to overthrow Assad, 910 people were killed: 392 rebels, 380 members of the forces of ousted President Assad and his allies, and 138 civilians”detailed the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH).

“Syria is ours”

On Sunday, scenes of jubilation greeted the end of half a century of unchallenged reign of the Assad clan, across Syria ravaged by civil war and plunged into uncertainty.

In Damascus, a reception room in the presidential palace was set on fire. Two kilometers away, dozens of men, women and children entered the sumptuous residence of the deposed president, which had just been taken by the rebels and looted, before the rebels imposed a cover fire in the city until Monday at dawn. In central Damascus, as in several other cities, protesters toppled and trampled statues of Hafez al-Assad, who led Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000, and his son Bashar.

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The leader of the rebels, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani by his nom de guerre, who leads the radical Islamist group Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), arrived in Damascus on Sunday where he prostrated himself on a lawn, before going to the historic site of the Umayyad Mosque.

“After 50 years of oppression (…) and 13 years of crimes, tyranny and displacement, today we announce the end of this dark era and the beginning of a new era for Syria”the rebels declared. “Syria is ours, it is not the Assad family”chanted fighters who roamed the streets of Damascus.

A “historic opportunity”

The almost instantaneous collapse of the regime opens an era of uncertainty in Syria, fragmented by the civil war which has left nearly half a million dead since 2011 and delivered to groups supported by various foreign powers.

US President Joe Biden on Sunday welcomed the fall of Bashar al-Assad from power in Syria, saying it represented a “historic opportunity” for the Syrians of “build a better future”while warning against “risks and uncertainty” that arise from the situation. The United States will “exchange with all Syrian groups” on the transition of power, Joe Biden also said.

Concerning Bashar al-Assad, the American president believes that he will have to “to be accountable” for the “hundreds of thousands of innocent Syrians” who were “mistreated, tortured, and killed”. “We’re not sure where he is, but he’s rumored to be in Moscow.”he added.

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The United Nations envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, called for keeping “cautious hopes” after the capture of Damascus, which he described as “decisive moment”.

Iranian embassy ransacked

Several countries – including France and Germany – have welcomed the fall of Bashar al-Assad, while urging Syrians to avoid the trap of extremism. Turkey, very influential in Syria where it supports certain rebel groups, has called on countries in the region and beyond to ensure “smooth transition” and says he is in contact with the rebels to guarantee security.

Faced with the rebel offensive launched on November 27 in north-west Syria, the support of Russia, whose troops are mobilized by the war in Ukraine, has crumbled, as has that of Iran and the movement. Lebanese Islamist Hezbollah, emerged weakened from the war in Lebanon, leaving the regime isolated.

Iran, whose embassy in Damascus was ransacked, warned on Sunday that its policy was likely to change depending on “developments in Syria and the region” et “the behavior of the actors” on the ground.