SYRIA’S government has fallen in a stunning end to the 24-year rule of Bashar al-Assad after rebels seized Damascus in a lightning blitz.
Assad fled the capital in a plane early Sunday as the butcher’s regime was overthrown by the militants in just 10 days.
APRebels are celebrating in Damascus after they seized control of the country[/caption]
AFPFighters celebrate at Umayyad Square in Damascus on Sunday morning[/caption]
AFPRebels fire into the air in celebration after overthrowing the regime[/caption]
Rebels stormed into Damascus on Saturday after seizing cities and towns in an almost unchecked advance from the south.
The regime’s dramatic collapse marks a seismic moment for the Middle East and deals a massive blow to Russia and Iran, which have lost a key ally at the heart of the region.
Syria has been shattered by more than 13 years of a civil war that has turned cities to rubble, killed hundreds of thousands of people, and forced millions abroad as refugees.
Syria’s army command has notified officers Assad’s rule is over – while rebels said Damascus is now “free of Assad”, Reuters reported.
Thousands have taken to the streets in celebration, firing guns into the air, lighting flares, and waving the rebel flag.
The country’s prime minister said the regime was now preparing to hand over its operations to the rebels.
Fighters escorted the PM from his home to their hotel headquarters as the transition begins.
Rami Abdurrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group, said Assad took a flight from Damascus early Sunday.
Assad has flown to the Russian-operated Khmeimim Air Base in a part of Syria still loyal to the regime, Walla reports.
US officials believe he was intending to travel to Moscow, but there is no indication yet whether he has left the country.
There has been no official statement from Assad’s government.
Meanwhile, rebel fighters have posted footage from inside Assad’s presidential palace as they celebrate their stunning win.
In a statement read out on Syrian TV, rebel fighters declared victory and said: “Long live Syria, free and proud for all Syrians of all sects.
“The city of Damascus has been liberated, the tyrant Bashar al-Assad has been overthrown, and all unjustly detained prisoners have been released from the regime’s prisons.”
AFPSyrian rebel fighters and locals celebrate after seizing the central city of Homs[/caption]
APSyrian President Bashar Assad has now fled the country, an opposition group says[/caption]
Statues of the Assad family have been toppled around the country with a bust of Hafez being decapitated late Saturday.
Rebel fighters attacking from the south arrived in Damascus yesterday after quickly advancing through the countryside.
Last night, opposition forces also seized control the key city of Homs, Syria’s third largest, as government forces abandoned it.
It was the first time opposition forces had reached Damascus since 2018 when Syrian troops recaptured areas on the outskirts of the capital following a years-long siege.
It comes as…
Rebels say Damascus is now ‘free of Assad’ as thousands take to streets of capital
Assad leaves Syrian capital on plane for unknown destination
Rebel commander says they have seized control of Homs – the country’s third biggest city
Syria’s Prime Minister says he is ‘ready to hand over power’ as he’s escorted from home by rebels
Israel deploys forces to UN-monitored buffer zone of the Golan Heights but ‘won’t interfere’
Trump says US should have ‘nothing to do’ with Syrian uprising
A number of countries have closed border crossings with Syria as the chaos unfolds, including Lebanon and Jordan.
All pro-Iranian forces have reportedly withdrawn from the country in a humiliating blow to the Ayatollah.
Iran has lost a key ally in its Shia axis across of proxies and allies in the Middle East.
AFPSyrian rebel fighters parade detained members of the Syrian government’s forces[/caption]
AFPPeople remove a government banner in Damascus as the government was overthrown[/caption]
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