Syrian rebel forces, led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, have entered the capital Damascus, culminating an impressive advance across the country. On an extraordinary day for Syria, President Bashar al-Assad is reported to have fled and is missing.
This is everything we know so far:
- Rebel forces say they have captured Damascus. They say the city is “free” of “tyrant” President Bashar al-Assad and that the Assad family’s 50-year rule is over. “After 50 years of oppression under the Baath Party regime and 13 years of crimes, tyranny and (forced) displacement… we announce today, 12/8/2024, the end of this dark period and the beginning of a new era for Syria,” they stated in a statement. A video circulating on the Internet shows Syrian army forces removing their uniforms on the streets of the capital. The insurgents announced that they have begun releasing detainees from Sednaya Prison, a notorious detention center near Damascus. Shots have been heard throughout the capital.
- Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali has declared in a video that the government is willing to “reach out” to the opposition and hand over its functions to a transitional government. A video shows Jalili leaving his house surrounded by a group of rebels.
- At dawn in Damascus there were scenes of celebration. Television images show rebels in uniform firing celebratory volleys into the sky and shouting “Allah Akbar” hours after Islamist rebels reclaimed control of the city, and amid reports that President Bashar al-Assad has fled the country to an unknown place. In the streets, people climbed onto tanks to chant and gathered to celebrate.
- The Syrian civil defense forces, the White Helmets, have issued a statement regarding the extraordinary events of recent days. “The sun of freedom rises over the Syrians… the moment that has been awaited for years… even decades… Syria, the homeland, is writing history today,” the group said in a statement in video published on X.
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has stated that Bashar al-Assad has left Syria. The head of the Observatory, Rami Abdel Rahman, has stated that “Assad left Syria through the Damascus international airport before army security forces left” the facilities. Reuters quotes two senior Syrian officials as saying that the president had abandoned Damascus. Iran’s state television, Assad’s main supporter in the years of war in Syria, reported that Assad had left the capital. He cited the Qatari news network Al Jazeera for the information and gave no further details. He hasn’t been seen in public for days.
- If the fall of Damascus is confirmed, the Government only has control of two of the 14 provincial capitals: Latakia and Tartus.
- Syrian rebel commander Hassan Abdul-Ghani declared early Sunday that insurgent forces had “totally liberated” the central Syrian city of Homs. There were reports of celebrations in the city and the removal of images of President Bashar al-Assad. A statue of Hafez al-Assad, father of Bashar al-Assad, has also been toppled by a large crowd in the city. Earlier, government forces had withdrawn from Homs.
- The loss of Homs is a serious blow to Assad. It is located at an important intersection between Damascus, the capital, and the Syrian coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus, a support base for the Syrian leader and home to a strategic Russian naval base. However, videos of protesters tearing down a statue of Bashar al-Assad have also emerged in Tartus.
- “President Biden and his team are closely monitoring the extraordinary events in Syria and remain in constant contact with regional partners,” White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement in the social networks.
- For his part, Donald Trump has said that the United States should avoid military involvement in Syria, according to the Associated Press. The president-elect’s first extensive comments on the dramatic rebel push came on Saturday via his social media. “THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT,” he wrote in a post on social networks.
- UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen on Saturday called for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an “orderly political transition”. Speaking to reporters at the annual Doha Forum in Qatar, he said the situation in Syria was changing by the minute. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whose country is Assad’s main international backer, said he felt “sorry for the Syrian people.”
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