The nearly quarter-century rule of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad came to a stunning end, when he fled the country by plane for an unknown destination as rebel troops stormed into the capital city of Damascus with little resistance.
Thousands of people rushed to the city’s main square waving and chanting “freedom” as rebel breached the city gates on Sunday, local time, and Assad’s army fled from the streets, witnesses said.
Assad, who has ruled the country with an iron fist for 24 years, boarded a plane and left Damascus for parts unknown, two senior army officers told Reuters.
Shortly after entering the city, rebels took over state media offices in Damascus, “to broadcast the victory announcement over Assad,” the rebels said in a statement, CNN reported.
“We celebrate with the Syrian people the news of freeing our prisoners and releasing their chains and announcing the end of the era of injustice in Sednaya prison,” the rebels announced.
Sednaya is a notorious military prison described by Amnesty International as “the human slaughters” on the outskirts of the capital where the Syrian government had detained thousands.
Intense sounds of shooting and explosions were reported around the city center, according to two residents there.
A resident of the Barzeh neighborhood of Damascus told CNN that rebels were in the area and fighting was taking place.
“I saw rebel fighters moving through the inner alleys of Barzeh toward Police Club Street, and I can hear very loud sounds of clashes,” they told the outlet. “The electricity is cut off, and the internet is very weak, people are staying at their houses.”
Residents of numerous Damascus districts turned out to protest Assad on Saturday evening — and security forces did not push back.
Sunday was the first time opposition forces had reached Damascus since 2018, when troops recaptured areas on the outskirts of the city following a yearslong siege.
The Syrian government has not yet made any statements.
The pro-government Sham FM radio reported that the Damascus airport had been evacuated and all flights halted.
Just hours earlier, rebels captured the key city of Homs after less than 24 hours of fighting, paving the way for troops to march to the capital.
Thousands of Homs residents poured onto the streets as government forces fled, dancing and chanting “Assad is gone, Homs is free” and “Long live Syria and down with Bashar al-Assad.”
After seizing Homs, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of the powerful Tahrir al-Sham, said in a statement that rebels were poised to take the whole country, promising “the end of the criminal regime is near.”
Tahrir al-Sham began as an Al-Qaeda affiliate and was designated by the United States as a terrorist organization in 2018.
In rural areas southwest of the capital, young people and former rebels took to the streets to celebrate.
It’s unclear how the possible end of five decades of the Assad Dynasty’s rule over Syria could impact the conflict-ridden Middle East.
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Russia had issued a joint statement saying the crisis was a dangerous development and called for a political solution.
