After years of war and a lightning offensive that began just 11 days ago, Syrian rebels took Damascus this Sunday thus putting an end to the regime of Bashar Al Assad, who ended up fleeing the country after 24 years in power. The irruption of the rebel forces has also occurred without resistance and has been added to that of the rest of the cities that they have been taking since the insurrection began on November 27. “The future is ours”, the leader of the rebels, Abu Mohammed Al-Jolani, has come to proclaim after finally taking the capital.
The rebel forces, led by the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) and its allied factions, have thus arrived in the city of Damascus during the early hours of the morning and They have quickly proclaimed their “victory” in the city. From state television and radio, which the insurgents took over early in the morning along with the airport, the insurgents have announced the “liberation” of the Syrian capital, as well as the fall of “tyrant Al Assad” and the release of all the regime’s prisoners.
“May Syria live free for all Syrians in all its segments”an unidentified man accompanied by eight other men dressed in civilian clothes said on television. A large part of the Syrian population has reacted by taking to the streets to celebrate the fall of Al Assad, whose Army has been gradually losing support from Russia and Iran and has not been able to contain the insurrection exercised over the last few days by a group of opposition forces that range from jihadists to Kurdish militias loaded with historical demands or armed rebel groups assisted by Türkiye.
The former Syrian president He has also had to leave the country by plane after trying to hold negotiations without success as confirmed by the Russian authorities. As Kremlin sources have detailed to various Russian agencies, the ousted president has arrived with his family in Moscow, where have received asylum “on humanitarian grounds.” With his departure, this marks an end to 53 years of the regime established by Al Asad’s own father in 1971, from whom he inherited power in 2000.
“A victory for the entire region”
“My revolutionary brothers, pray to God to thank him for the victory he has given us through your arms,” the Islamist leader Al-Jolani said after taking Damascus in a statement, where he also indicated that “there is no place ” to go back. “This victory is a new history for the entire Islamic nation and for the entire region. “Al Assad has left Syria as an estate for Iranian ambitions and has spread sectarianism and corruption,” he also maintained this Sunday: “Today Syria has been cleaned, thanks to God and the fighters.”
The arrival of the rebels has led to looting and looting in the city, both of businesses and public buildings. Among them, the rebellious forces have come to assault the Residential Palace of Al Assad, where they have destroyed all the portraits and images with his face. They have also forcefully broken into the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, where they have taken all the property inside.
While waiting to know what scenario will now occur in Syria, the rebel forces have announced that for the moment the country’s public institutions They will continue to be under the supervision of the Syrian Prime Minister, Mohamed Ghazi Al Jalaliuntil they are “officially delivered.” Al Jalali, who has confirmed that he still remains in Damascus, has limited himself to indicating that he is willing to collaborate with “any Syrian who is interested in Syria to preserve its institutions.” On the other hand, the rebel forces have also declared a curfew from 4 pm this Sunday until 5 am Monday, although they have not given more information about how many more days it will be in force.
Wave of international reactions
The reactions to the victory of the Syrian rebels have not been long in coming and the Syrian community has held notable rallies in the rest of the countries. From Stockholm to Berlinthousands of people have gathered and taken to the streets to also celebrate the fall of Al Assad. They have also done it in Madrid, where Two hundred people have gathered at the Syrian Embassy and they have raised the rebel flag used by all those Syrians living in exile.
On the political level, both the UN and the European Union have celebrated the fall of Al Assad. The UN, which since 2011 has been investigating human rights violations committed in the country, has described the departure of the former Syrian president as the moment of a “historic beginning” for a people who has suffered “14 years of atrocities”: “It is time to lead the country to a stable, prosperous and just future that guarantees the human rights and dignity that has been denied to its people for so long.”
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, has indicated for her part that the end of the Al Assad dictatorship It is something “positive and long awaited”, stressing that the priority now for the EU is to “guarantee security” in the region.
On the opposite side, Russia, the main ally of the Al Assad regime, has asked that all parties involved avoid using violence and that the country’s problems be solved “through political means.” The authorities of Iran, the other great supporter of the former president, have spoken along the same lines and have indicated that the future of Syria “Your people must decide” without external interventions. “The future of Syria is the exclusive responsibility of the people of this country. Without destructive intervention or external imposition,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The White House, for its part, has limited itself to expressing that President Joe Biden “follow closely” what happened and that from the United States they remain in “constant contact” with their partners in the region. The country’s next president, Donald Trump, has also spoken out, distancing himself from the conflict and ensuring that This is “not a fight” for the United States.
Furthermore, the president-elect has linked the fall of Al Assad to the war in Ukraine: “Russia and Iran are very weakened at the momentone for Ukraine and a bad economy, and the other for Israel and its military successes.” From Beijing, on the other hand, they have expressed in a statement that they hope that stability “returns as soon as possible” to the country.
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