The Syrian government appears to have fallen after a lightning offensive by rebels.
President Bashar al Assad fled Damascus on a plane for an unknown destination, according to two senior Syrian army officers speaking to the Reuters news agency, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Image: Syrian president Bashar al Assad has fled Damascus, according to multiple sources. Pic: AP/Amr Nabil
Syria’s army command has now notified officers that his 24-year rule has ended, an officer who was informed of the move told Reuters.
Hours earlier, the rebels said they had gained complete control of the key city of Homs after only a day of fighting.
Image: An image of Bashar al Assad riddled with bullets at the provincial government office building in Hama. Pic: AP
Syria’s prime minister said he is ready to hand over the government to the opposition in a peaceful transition.
“I am here in my home,” Ghazi al Jalali said.
“I have not left it and do not intend to leave, except in a peaceful manner that ensures the continued functioning of public institutions and state facilities, promoting security and reassurance for our fellow citizens.”
Image: Rebel fighters in the Homs countryside on Saturday. Pic: Reuters
He said he would go to his office to continue work in the morning and called on Syrian citizens not to deface public property.
He did not comment on reports Bashar al Assad has fled Damascus.
Image: Key locations in Syria as well as the Iraqi town of Al Qaim, where troops are seeking refuge
Soon after, the rebels announced it was prohibited to go near public institutions that will remain under the supervision of the “former prime minister”.
The rebels, who said Damascus was “now free of Assad”, are expected to broadcast their first statement to the Syrian people on state television, two rebel sources said.
Thousands of Syrians, in cars and on foot, have congregated at a main square in the city chanting for freedom, according to Reuters.
In Homs, thousands of people poured on to the streets after the army withdrew from the city, dancing and chanting “Assad is gone, Homs is free”, and “Long live Syria and down with Bashar al Assad”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:33
Protesters brought down a statue of the late father of Syria’s president in a main square few miles from Damascus city centre.
Protesters on Saturday brought down a statue of the president’s late father in a main square in a suburb a few miles from the centre of the capital.
The country’s international airport in Damascus has been abandoned and rebels say they have entered the notorious Saydnaya military prison north of the capital and freed inmates there.
“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,” said the rebels.
It’s a new dawn – but there are dark clouds on the horizon
It’s over.
Fifty-four years of brutal Assad dynasty rule has come to an end. The streets of Damascus have erupted in celebration, President Assad has fled the country and the capital has fallen.
What comes next is of great concern. Syria is deeply divided, geographically and socially. This is a moment of huge peril.
Once the euphoria cools there will be deep hatred and anger towards former Assad loyalists after decades of murderous rule. Containing that will be difficult.
Who will govern Syria is unknown. Multiple rebel groups control different parts of the country and, we assume, they will all want their slice of power. That is a recipe for further civil war unless this can be managed in an orderly way.
Syria’s prime minister, Mohammed Ghazi al Jalali, has remained in Damascus and offered a peaceful transition. How he is treated will be a good indicator.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the main group that started this rebellion with the capture of Aleppo, was once affiliated with Al Qaeda. It has renounced those links but remain a proscribed terror organisation by the US and others.
Russia and Iran, Assad’s two main state sponsors, abandoned him when his fate seemed inevitable. It’s unlikely they will abandon Syria quite so quickly though. Moscow has key military bases on the Mediterranean coast which opens up a part of the world to them – giving these up would be a huge strategic blow.
To Iran, Syria was a centrepiece in its axis of resistance, the funnel through which weapons were channelled to Hezbollah and vital territory in its arc of influence. But Assad and Hezbollah have now both collapsed, and Iran’s network of Shia influence is in tatters.
It’s a new dawn for Syria, but there are dark clouds on the horizon.
Gunfire has been reported in the centre of Damascus, two residents told Reuters on Sunday, although it was not immediately clear what the source of the shooting was.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the main rebel leader, called the capture of Homs a historic moment and urged fighters not to harm “those who drop their arms”.
They have also claimed Deir el Zor in the east, Suweida, Quneitra and Deraa in the south.
The BBC was alerted to Gregg Wallace's "unacceptable" behaviour while filming Inside The Factory more than a year and a half ago, Sky News can confirm.A memo to staff at the Nestle factory in York shows concerns were raised with both the broadcaster and production company Voltage TV after Wallace's final visit in February 2023. The memo, which was shared on the company intranet, says the "experience of some of […]
Post comments (0)