AMMAN: Syrian rebels mentioned on Sunday (Dec 8) that they’ve ended Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year authoritarian rule, of their first announcement on state tv following a lightning offensive that took the world without warning.
Syria’s military command notified officers on Sunday that Assad’s regime had ended, a Syrian officer who was knowledgeable of the transfer advised Reuters.
However the Syrian military later mentioned it was persevering with operations in opposition to “terrorist teams” in the important thing cities of Hama and Homs and in Deraa countryside.
Assad, who had crushed all types of dissent, flew out of Damascus for an unknown vacation spot earlier on Sunday, two senior military officers advised Reuters, as rebels mentioned they’d entered the capital with no signal of military deployments.
“We rejoice with the Syrian individuals the information of releasing our prisoners and releasing their chains and asserting the tip of the period of injustice in Sednaya jail,” the rebels mentioned, referring to a big army jail on the outskirts of Damascus the place the Syrian authorities detained hundreds.
1000’s in vehicles and on foot congregated at a principal sq. in Damascus waving and chanting “Freedom” from a half-century of Assad household rule, witnesses mentioned.
The dramatic collapse marks a seismic second for the Center East, ending the household’s iron-fisted rule over Syria and dealing a large blow to Russia and Iran, which have misplaced a key ally on the coronary heart of the area.
The tempo of occasions has shocked Arab capitals and raised fears of a brand new wave of regional instability.
It marks a turning level for Syria, shattered by greater than 13 years of struggle which has turned cities to rubble, killed a whole bunch of hundreds of individuals, and compelled tens of millions overseas as refugees.
Stabilising western areas of Syria captured within the rebels’ advance will likely be key. Western governments, which have shunned the Assad-led state for years, should determine easy methods to take care of a brand new administration during which a globally designated terrorist group – Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – seems to be set to have affect.
HTS, which spearheaded the insurgent advances throughout western Syria, was previously an al Qaeda affiliate often called the Nusra Entrance till its chief Abu Mohammed al-Golani, severed ties with the worldwide jihadist motion in 2016.
“The actual query is how orderly will this transition be, and it appears fairly clear that Golani may be very looking forward to it to be an orderly one,” mentioned Joshua Landis, a Syria skilled and Director of the Heart for Center East Research on the College of Oklahoma.
Golani won’t desire a repeat of the chaos that swept Iraq after US-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. “They’re going to need to rebuild … they are going to want Europe and the US to raise sanctions,” Landis mentioned.
HTS is Syria’s strongest insurgent group and a few Syrians stay fearful it’s going to impose draconian Islamist rule or instigate reprisals.
A Syrian Air airplane took off from Damascus airport across the time the capital was reported to have been taken by rebels, in keeping with knowledge from the Flightradar web site.
The plane initially flew in direction of Syria’s coastal area, a stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect, however then made an abrupt U-turn and flew in the wrong way for a couple of minutes earlier than disappearing off the map.
Reuters couldn’t instantly confirm who was on board.
Two Syrian sources mentioned there was a really excessive likelihood that Assad might have been killed in a airplane crash because it was a thriller why the airplane took a shock U-turn and disappeared off the map in keeping with knowledge from the Flightradar web site.
“It disappeared off the radar, probably the transponder was switched off, however I consider the larger likelihood is that the plane was taken down …,” mentioned one Syrian supply with out elaborating.
