Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) war monitor said that President Bashar al-Assad has left the country, after losing swathes of territory to a lightning offensive led by an Islamist-led rebel coalition that said it entered Damascus on Sunday.
Residents in the Syrian capital told AFP heavy gunfire rang out, after a source close to Hezbollah saying fighters from the key Assad ally had left their positions around Damascus.
According to Al Arabiya news broadcast, Iran’s embassy in Damascus was being stormed by protesters in the morning. According to Al Hadath, the Iraqi embassy in Syria has been deserted.
The president's reported departure comes less than two weeks after the Islamist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group launched its campaign challenging more than five decades of rule by the Assad family.
"Assad left Syria via Damascus international airport before the army security forces left" the facility," Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the SOHR told AFP.
AFP was unable to immediately confirm the report.
“Free Syria”
Syrian rebels also said that President Bashar al-Assad had fled the country, calling on citizens abroad to return to a "free Syria" and saying that Damascus was free of the "tyrant".
"The tyrant Bashar al-Assad has fled" and "we declare the city of Damascus free", the rebel factions said on Telegram, adding that "after 50 years of oppression under Baath rule, and 13 years of crimes and tyranny and (forced) displacement... we announce today the end of this dark period and the start of a new era for Syria".
After half a century of oppression and tyranny, the #Syrian people have finally achieved their #freedom with the fall of the #Assad regime.#Syria pic.twitter.com/PpxPLZpDc5
— This is Beirut (@ThisIsBeirut_) December 8, 2024
Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed al-Jalali said he was ready to "cooperate" with any leadership chosen by the people and for any handover process, after rebels said President Bashar al-Assad had fled the country.
"This country can be a normal country that builds good relations with its neighbours and the world... but this issue is up to any leadership chosen by the Syrian people. We are ready to cooperate with it (that leadership) and offer all possible facilities," Jalali said in a speech broadcast on his Facebook account.
The leader of Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, ordered its forces not to approach official institutions in Damascus, saying they would remain under the prime minister until they are "officially" handed over.
"To all military forces in the city of Damascus, it is strictly forbidden to approach public institutions, which will remain under the supervision of the former prime minister until they are officially handed over," Jolani said in a statement on Telegram, using his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa instead of his nom de guerre, and adding: "It is forbidden to shoot into the air."
Sednaya’s prsionners freed
After saying their forces were heading into the capital, HTS announced an "end of the era of tyranny in the prison of Sednaya" as they broke into the jail which has become a by-word for darkest abuses of the Syrian regime.
The rapid developments in Damascus come only hours after HTS said they had captured the strategic city of Homs, on the way to the capital.
Children, women and men freed from #Saydnaya’s prison in #Damascus after years of imprisonment.#Syria #BasharAlAssad pic.twitter.com/WnJwB1hi4n
— This is Beirut (@ThisIsBeirut_) December 8, 2024
The Defense ministry earlier denied that rebels had entered Homs, describing the situation there as "safe and stable".
Homs lies about 140 kilometers (85 miles) north of the capital and was the third major city seized by the rebels who began their advance on November 27, reigniting a years-long war that had become largely dormant.
Monitoring events in Damascus, the Britain-based Observatory confirmed "the doors of the infamous 'Sednaya' prison... have been opened for thousands of detainees who were imprisoned by the security apparatus throughout the regime's rule".
Earlier, Assad's government denied the army had withdrawn from areas around Damascus.
"A very strong security and military cordon" was being established by the armed forces around the capital "and no one... can penetrate this defensive line", Interior Minister Mohammed al-Rahmoun told state television.
Assad has for years been backed by Hezbollah, whose forces "vacated their positions around Damascus" according to a source close to the group.
Hezbollah "has instructed its fighters in recent hours to withdraw from the Homs area, with some heading to Latakia (in Syria) and others to the Hermel area in Lebanon", the source also told AFP.
A source close to Hezbollah earlier said it had sent 2,000 fighters into Syria, to an area near the Lebanese border, "to defend its positions".
The Defense ministry earlier insisted: "There is no truth to news claiming our armed forces... have withdrawn" from positions near Damascus.
The Syrian army said that, in addition to the area around Damascus, it was reinforcing positions in the south, and operations against the rebels were beginning in the Hama, Homs and Daraa areas.
AFP has been unable to independently verify some of the information provided by the government and the rebels, as its journalists cannot reach the areas around Damascus where the rebels say they are present.
trafic jam
Residents of the capital described to AFP a state of panic as traffic jams clogged the city center, people sought supplies and queued to withdraw money from ATMs.
"The situation was not like this when I left my house this morning... suddenly everyone was scared," said one woman, Rania.
At #Damascus Airport, footage reveals a scene of total chaos as staff and security personnel suddenly disappear, causing travelers to panic and run in every direction. Simultaneously, flights are unexpectedly canceled, adding to the confusion.#Syria #BasharAlAssad pic.twitter.com/5w8viahLDe
— This is Beirut (@ThisIsBeirut_) December 8, 2024
A few kilometers (miles) away, the mood was starkly different.
In a Damascus suburb, witnesses said protesters toppled a statue of Assad's father, the late leader Hafez al-Assad.
AFPTV images from Hama, Syria's fourth-largest city, showed abandoned tanks and other armored vehicles, one of them on fire.
Hama resident Kharfan Mansour said he was "happy with the liberation of Hama and the liberation of Syria from the Assad regime".
Syrian rebels say they have started an attack on Kurdish-led forces in the northern Syrian town of Manbij, according to a statement posted today — but dated yesterday — on X by the Defense Ministry of the Syrian Interim Government.
The Islamist rebels collaborated with the Kurds to overthrow the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, but now appear to have rapidly turned on each other.
With AFP
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