Cairo/Beirut, Dec. 9, (dpa/GNA) – Syrians were facing a new political reality on Sunday after rebels took the capital Damascus, ending the two-decade regime of president Bashar al-Assad, who was reported to have fled the country for Moscow.
Residents took to the streets of Damascus singing and dancing. Witnesses said celebratory gunfire could be heard, as more than 50 years of rule by the al-Assad family came to an end.
For many inside and outside of Syria, however, the jubilation was tempered with caution amid concern about what lies ahead. It is unclear who will govern the divided country in the future and whether Syria will ultimately find a path to democracy.
The opposition forces now in control of Damascus announced a curfew in the city from 4 pm (1400 GMT) to 5 am.
Russian state media TASS quoted a Kremlin representative as saying that Moscow had granted al-Assad and his family asylum on humanitarian grounds.
Iraq closed its al-Qaim border crossing with Syria and evacuated its embassy. Iran holds significant political influence in Iraq, and numerous Iranian-aligned militias are active in Iraq.
The embassy of Iran was stormed on Sunday, with the news channel Al Arabiya releasing videos showing people tearing down a large poster from the fence of the site in Damascus.
The poster featured the powerful Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in 2020 in Iraq by a US drone strike, and Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia, who was killed in September in an Israeli airstrike near Beirut.
Along with Russia, Iran and the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia were the main allies of the al-Assad government. With their support, the Syrian government forces regained important areas during the civil war, enabling al-Assad to remain in power.
After sweeping through major cities like Aleppo, Hama and Homs in just a matter of days, the rebels entered Damascus on Sunday, declared the overthrow of al-Assad’s government and proclaimed the capital liberated.
Addressing the millions of refugees displaced by 13 years of war, the Military Operations Command, which represents a group of rebel forces, said: “To the displaced worldwide, a free Syria awaits you,”
The Syrian state army also said that al-Assad’s rule had come to an end, with the army command informing government soldiers they were no longer in service, dpa learned from Syrian military sources.
Syrian rebels entered the presidential palace in Damascus early Sunday while chanting “God is most great,” witnesses told dpa.
Al-Assad had fled Damascus shortly before the rebels arrived, said the Russian government.
The Syrian civil war flared up again in late November when a rebel alliance led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched a surprise offensive in north-western Syria in early December and then quickly seized territory from pro-Assad forces as they moved south toward Damascus.
The rebels confirmed that they had stormed the notorious Sednaya prison, nicknamed the “Human Slaughterhouse.” The prison near Damascus holds many political prisoners who opposed the rule of al-Assad.
Syria has been in the throes of a civil war since 2011, when security forces responded violently to protests against al-Assad’s rule.
Around 14 million people have been displaced and 300,000 civilians killed so far, according to UN estimates.
The European Union and the United States classify HTS as a terrorist organization, making it unclear just how much room for diplomatic manoeuvre the West has.
According to HTS leader Abu Mohamed al-Joulani, the rebel alliance intends to take power peacefully. Public facilities in Damascus “will remain under the supervision of the former prime minister until the official handover,” he said.
Years ago, the United States put a bounty of $10 million on al-Joulani. But the 42-year-old has been presenting himself as moderate who wants to rebuild Syria.
Rebels advance in the north-east
Simultaneously with their advance on Damascus, the rebel alliance was also pushing forward in the north and north-east of the country on Sunday.
Syria’s HTS rebels have taken control of large areas in the Kurdish-held northern city of Manbij, after clashes killed at least 26 people, a war monitor said on Sunday.
Fierce fighting was still ongoing in the central part of Manbij, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Clashes killed nine Turkish-allied rebels and 17 members of the Manbij military forces, which is affiliated with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Britain-based group said.
The insurgents meanwhile said in an address broadcast on Syrian state television that they had brought areas west of the key city of Deir al-Zour under their control. This area was recently controlled by Syrian government troops and allied militias.
Deir al-Zour is situated on the Euphrates River and on important transport and supply routes between the eastern and central parts of Syria. Near the border with Iraq, the area also contains most of the country’s oil fields, as well as a US military base.
Areas of the city are now largely controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are led by Kurdish militias.
GNA