Syrian rebels have announced that the Assad government has fallen.
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad fled Damascus on Sunday as rebels entered the capital and the Syria’s army command notified officers that Assad’s 24-year rule has come to an end. Al-Assad boarded a plane and left to an unknown destination, a Reuters report said, citing Syrian officer informed on the situation.
Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Observatory, stated that “Assad departed Syria through Damascus International Airport before the army’s security forces vacated the facility.”
Syrian opposition based in Türkiye have said that Damascus is now “without Bashar al-Assad,” according to a Reuters report.
Hasan Abdel Ghani, a military leader in the rebels’ operations room, said on X:
“After 50 years of oppression under Ba’ath rule, and 13 years of crime, tyranny, and displacement, following a long struggle and resistance against all forms of occupation forces, we announce today, on 8-12-2024, the end of this dark era and the beginning of a new chapter for Syria.”
Syrian rebel sources say that government officers and personnel are withdrawing from the Ministry of Defence and General Staff headquarters in Damascus, according to Al Jazeera.
Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said he remained in his home and was ready to support continuity of governance.
Syrian rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, more commonly known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani, said on Sunday that it was prohibited to go near public institutions that he said will remain under the supervision of the “former prime minister” until it is officially handed over.
Videos posted online showed protesters toppling the statue of late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad in Damascus.
