Syrian Capital Falls to Rebels as Assad Departs

Opposition combatants have seized control of Damascus, Syria’s capital, effectively bringing an end to the Assad government, which has governed the nation since 1971. Forces led by the opposition group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) entered the city in the early hours of Sunday morning, subsequently appearing on state television to declare Syria “free.” The current location of Bashar al-Assad, the country’s former president, is unknown. He is thought to have departed the capital by plane. The rebels, who executed a swift advance over the past two weeks, capturing significant cities on the route to Damascus, were met with public celebrations in the streets upon their arrival in the city. “We all feel like we have been underwater literally for 13 years and we just took a breath,” Rania Kataf, a 39-year-old researcher in Syrian cultural heritage residing in Damascus, conveyed to the BBC. “Overwhelmed is not even a word [that can describe this].” Another resident commented: “For the very first time, there is a true feeling of freedom.” However, prior to the rebel takeover, other individuals voiced apprehension about the future, fearing instability and violence in a city that had remained relatively untouched by Syria’s decade-long civil war. On Sunday, people were observed looting the presidential palace, prompting the rebels to impose a curfew on Damascus. Celebratory gunfire was also heard echoing in the city’s Umayyad Square, despite HTS having prohibited its fighters from engaging in such acts. Assad had held power since 2000, having inherited the presidency from his father, Hafez. The regime was characterized by repression, censorship, and human rights abuses. Following the Arab Spring, several factions opposing Assad emerged, among them HTS, which was established in 2011 as an affiliate of al-Qaeda and saw early involvement from the leader of Islamic State. It remains designated a terrorist group by the UN, the US, and other bodies. The leader of the Islamist group, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, has sought to reform its public image, severing ties with al-Qaeda and promising tolerance for Syria’s minority communities. Many of HTS’s statements in recent days have presented it as a movement for all Syrians, with Jolani telling CNN on Friday: “No one has the right to erase another group. These sects have coexisted in this region for hundreds of years, and no one has the right to eliminate them.” In the last fortnight, HTS launched an unexpected offensive from the north, swiftly capturing the cities of Aleppo and Hama. Its progress, encountering limited government resistance, also incited an uprising by allied rebels in the southern region of Daraa, who advanced towards Damascus from the south. By Saturday night, HTS had retaken the strategically vital city of Homs as government forces withdrew, releasing more than 3,500 prisoners from a military detention facility there. Despite assertions from the interior ministry that a “very strong” military cordon was in place around Damascus, the city was in rebel hands just a few hours later. Initial indications point to an organized transfer of power that has largely avoided violence. Syria’s Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali stated that he remains in Damascus and has been in communication with HTS’s leadership. HTS declared it “strictly forbidden” for rebels to attack public institutions, which would stay under Jalali’s oversight until formally handed over. However, with the shared objective of Syria’s rebel factions now accomplished, there persists a risk that the country could mirror Libya’s fate and descend into years of competing armed groups and instability. Regarding Assad, Jalali informed Al-Arabiya that he had last heard from him on Saturday evening and possessed no information concerning his whereabouts. Russia, a long-term ally of Assad, reported that he had relinquished his position as president and fled the country as a result of negotiations with “other participants in the armed conflict.” Nevertheless, speculation has arisen that an aircraft believed to be transporting the deposed leader might have been shot down, after flight tracking data suggested it performed an abrupt U-turn before disappearing from the map. Western leaders have welcomed the conclusion of Assad’s regime, while expressing cautious optimism toward the country’s new leadership. The UK’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer greeted the end of Assad’s “barbaric regime,” but stated his focus was on “ensuring a political solution prevails, and peace and stability is restored.” Amid reports of air strikes on airports surrounding Damascus and a location thought to have been used by the Assad regime to develop chemical weapons – incidents that Arab news outlets have attributed to Israel – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hoped to establish “peaceful relations” with the new Syrian government, but affirmed his nation would “take action against possible threats.” Israel has not commented on the apparent strikes. Netanyahu stated that he had instructed Israel’s military to seize the buffer zone between Syria and the Israel-controlled Golan Heights. Additional reporting by Lina Sinjab. Copyright 2024 BBC. 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