He Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated on Sunday that President Bashar al Assad left the countryafter rebels seized large swaths of Syria in a lightning offensive.
“Assad left Syria through Damascus International Airport before security forces” left the site, said the director of the observatory, Rami Abdel Rahman. AFP was initially unable to independently confirm the version.
Prime Minister, ready to cooperate and hand over command
Meanwhile, the Syrian Prime Minister Mohamed al Jalali declared that he is ready to “cooperate” with the leadership chosen by the people and with any transfer of command.
“This country can be a normal country that builds relations with its neighbors and the world (…) but this depends on the leadership elected by the Syrian people. We are ready to cooperate (with the leadership) and offer all possible facilities“Jalali declared in a speech broadcast on his Facebook account.
Syrian rebels announce “new era” after escape of “tyrant” Bashar al-Assad
Rebel groups that entered Damascus on Sunday announced that the “tyrant” Bashar al-Assad “has fled”, and called on citizens abroad to return to a “Free Syria”.
“The tyrant Bashar al Assad has fled” and “we declare the city of Damascus free,” the rebel factions expressed on Telegram. They added that “after 50 years of oppression under the command of the Baath (party) and 13 years of crimes and forced displacement (…) we announce today the end of this dark period and the beginning of a new era for Syria.”
Rebels claim the capture of the Syrian city of Homs
The rebels who launched a lightning offensive in Syria announced on Saturday the capture of the strategic city of Homs, north of Damascus, and are approaching the capital where the government claims to have established an impenetrable security cordon.
The Syrian Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham posted on Telegram that its forces control the entire city of Homs, while its leader Ahmed al Chareh called the victory “historic.”
The Syrian Defense Ministry denied reports of rebels entering Homs and described the situation as “safe and stable.”
The capture of Homs, Syria’s third city located 150 km north of Damascus, would sever the seat of power in the capital from the Mediterranean coast, a key stronghold of the Assad clan, which has ruled Syria for the past five decades.
Homs would be the third major city taken by the Islamist-led rebels after the start of their dazzling offensive on November 27, in an unexpected turn in the civil war that began in 2011.
Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), announced in turn that “rebel factions entered the city of Homs and took over some neighborhoods.”
The observatory has an extensive network of informants in the field.
For his part, the commander of the rebel alliance, Hasan Abdel Ghani, stated on Telegram that more than 3,500 prisoners from the Homs prison had been released and that they have taken four cities.
“With the grace of God we have managed to liberate four Syrian cities in 24 hours: Daraa, Quneitra, Sweida and Homs. Our operations continue (…) and our eyes are on the capital, Damascus,” added Ghani.
Aron Lund, a member of the think tank Century International, indicated that the loss of Homs does not mean the end of President Bashar al-Assad’s government. But “without a safe route from Damascus to the coast, I would say it is finished as a credible state entity,” he said.
In Damascus, Interior Minister Mohamed al Rahmun declared on state television that the capital had a “very strong military and security cordon.”
“No one (…) can penetrate this line of defense that we, the armed forces, are putting up,” he stressed.
“Fear”
“Our forces have begun the final phase of encircling the capital Damascus,” said Commander Ghani of the Islamist group HTS.
“Damascus awaits you,” he declared on Telegram, using his real name instead of his nom de guerre, Abu Mohamed al Jolani.
The Syrian army stated that it was reinforcing its positions around Damascus, but also in the south and in the central areas of Hama and Homs.
The situation is difficult to verify independently and although some AFP collaborators are in rebel-controlled areas, the agency does not currently have reporters near Damascus.
Residents of the capital described scenes of panic in Damascus, with people rushing to withdraw money or buy food. “The situation was not like this when I left this morning. Suddenly everyone started to be afraid,” said Rania, one of them.
A few kilometers away, the atmosphere was totally different. In a suburb of Damascus, protesters tore down a statue of Hafaz al-Assad, the current president’s late father, according to witnesses.
AFPTV footage recorded in Hama showed abandoned tanks and armored vehicles, one of them on fire.
Kharfan Mansour, a resident of this city, said he was “happy about the liberation of Hama and the liberation of Syria from the Assad regime.”
Bashar al-Assad assumed power in 2000, succeeding his father, who had ruled the country since 1971.
Soldiers who “fled”
The OSDH and Abdel Ghani stated that the rebels are less than 20 kilometers from Damascus.
The United Kingdom-based organization indicated that government forces lost control of the province of Daraa, in the south of the country and the birthplace of the 2011 uprising.
He also noted that troops evacuated positions in Quneitra, near the Golan Heights annexed by Israel.
The Syrian army announced that it was “redeploying and repositioning” in Daraa and in As-Suwayda, another southern province.
An Iraqi security source told AFP that Baghdad allowed in hundreds of Syrian soldiers, who “fled the front” through the Al Qaim border crossing. A second source estimated the figure at 2,000 soldiers, including officers.
At least 826 people, including more than 100 civilians, have been killed since the offensive began on November 27, according to the OSDH.
The UN, in turn, reports 370,000 displaced people in this same period.
The UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, called for “avoiding a bloodbath” and “protecting civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law.”
Assad’s forces, which have significant military backing from Russia and Iran, have never lost so many cities in such a short time since the 2011 outbreak of the civil war, which left more than 500,000 dead.
The conflict divided the country into zones of influence supported by foreign powers.
Russia, the regime’s main ally, has urged its citizens to leave the country, as have the United States and Jordan.
Russian military support, crucial for the regime in 2015, has been reduced due to the war in Ukraine, while Iran and the Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah, weakened by the conflict with Israel, have sent limited reinforcements.
