Following a surprise lightning offensive, Syrian rebels announced on state television Sunday that they had overthrown Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year authoritarian rule.
An officer in Syria told Reuters that Syria’s army command informed officers on Sunday that Assad’s rule was now over.
The Syrian army, however, subsequently declared that it was still conducting operations against “terrorist groups” in the rural areas of Deraa and the towns of Hama and Homs, respectively.
As rebels claimed they had entered the capital without seeing any army deployments, two senior army officers told Reuters that Assad, who had stifled all forms of dissent, had taken off for an unspecified location earlier on Sunday.
“We celebrate with the Syrian people the news of freeing our prisoners, releasing their chains, and announcing the end of the era of injustice in Sednaya prison,” the rebels declared, alluding to the massive military prison outside of Damascus where the Syrian government held thousands of individuals.
Witnesses reported that thousands of people in cars and on foot chanted and waved “freedom” from 50 years of Assad family rule at a central square in Damascus.
In addition to ending the family’s strict control over Syria, the dramatic collapse represents a turning point for the Middle East and a severe setback for Russia and Iran, who have lost a vital ally in the center of the region.
Arab capitals have expressed shock at the rapidity of the events and concern about a fresh round of instability in the region.
According to Flightradar data, a Syrian Air aircraft took off from Damascus airport around the time the rebels reportedly captured the capital.
First heading for the coastal area of Syria, a bastion of Assad’s Alawite sect, the plane suddenly turned around and flew in the other direction for a few minutes before vanishing from the map.
Reuters did not immediately know who was on board.
Two Syrian sources suggested that Assad may have died in a plane crash based on data from the Flightradar website, which made it unclear why the plane made an unexpected U-turn and disappeared from the map.
Without providing further details, one Syrian source stated, “I think the greater likelihood is that the aircraft was taken down… The aircraft disappeared from the radar, potentially due to a switched off transponder.
Hadi al-Bahra, the leader of Syria’s principal opposition group overseas, stated that Damascus was now “without Bashar al-Assad.”
Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali declared that he was willing to support the continuation of governance and work with any leadership that the Syrian people choose, sparking joy among Syrians.
The White House announced that US President Joe Biden and his team were closely monitoring the “extraordinary events in Syria” and engaging in discussions with regional partners.
For years, Syria’s complicated civil war was raging on the frontlines. Then, with the aid of Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah in Lebanon, Assad endured years of a brutal war and international isolation before facing the greatest challenge from Islamists who had previously been associated with Al Qaeda.
Other crises, however, distracted and undermined Assad’s allies, leaving him vulnerable to his enemies and with an army ill-equipped to stop him.
It is forbidden to approach public institutions, according to Syrian rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who stated on Sunday that they will be supervised by the “former prime minister” until they are formally turned over.
Israel will probably rejoice over the downfall of Assad, another of Iran’s most important regional allies, as it has significantly undermined Iran-backed organizations Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. However, the possibility of an Islamist organization taking control of Syria is likely to cause some concern.
Hours before arriving in Damascus, rebels declared that, after just one day of fighting, they had taken complete control of the strategically important city of Homs, thereby threatening Assad’s 24-year rule.
When the army left the central city, thousands of people from Homs poured onto the streets, chanting and dancing, “Assad is gone; Homs is free,” and “Long live Syria, and down with Bashar al-Assad.”
In celebration, rebels fired into the air, and young people tore down posters of the Syrian president, whose military has been retreating in a dizzying fashion for the past week.
Because of the fall of Homs, the insurgents gained control of Syria’s strategic heartland and a crucial highway intersection, cutting off Damascus from the coastal area that is home to Assad’s Alawite sect’s stronghold and where his Russian allies have an air and naval base.
The capture of Homs is also a potent representation of the rebel movement’s spectacular resurgence in the 13-year-old war. Years ago the army and rebels fought a bloody siege that destroyed swaths of Homs. The fighting drove the rebels out.
The city jail released thousands of prisoners. The security forces burned their documents and hurried away.
The 2011 uprising against Assad’s rule that sparked Syria’s civil war attracted major foreign powers, gave jihadist militants a platform to plan attacks globally, and forced millions of people to flee to neighboring countries.
