Seismic change in Syria as Assad regime falls

Rebel HTS ends five-decade Baath party rule; President Bashar, family flee to Moscow; Future is ours: rebel

AMMAN/BEIRUT/CAIRO:

In a seismic moment for the Middle East, Syria's Islamist rebels declared they had ousted President Bashar al-Assad after seizing control of Damascus on Sunday, forcing him to flee the country and ending his family's decades of autocratic rule after more than 13 years of civil war.

The rebels said they had entered the capital with no sign of army deployments, while witnesses said that thousands of people in cars and on foot congregated at a main square in Damascus waving and chanting "Freedom" from a half century of Assad family rule.

Hours later, Russia's TASS and Ria Novosti news agencies quoted their sources as saying that Assad and his family were in Moscow. "Assad and members of his family have arrived in Moscow," the reports said. "Russia granted them asylum on humanitarian grounds," the reports added.

Moscow had said earlier that Assad had resigned from the presidency and left the country along with his wife Asma, and their two children. "Assad left the office and departed the country after giving orders for a peaceful handover of power," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The pace of events stunned Arab capitals and raised concerns about a new wave of instability in a region already in turmoil following the spread of conflict after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023, and the ensuing Gaza war.

A spectacular end to five decades of Baath party rule also dealt a major blow to the influence of Russia and Iran in Syria in the heart of the region – allies who had propped up Assad during critical periods in the war but were distracted by other crises recently.

There was no statement from the Syrian military after the departure of Assad but the country's Prime Minister Mohammed al-Jalali said he was ready to cooperate with "any leadership chosen by the Syrian people".

The head of war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, said Assad left Syria via Damascus airport before the army security forces left. Assad's reported departure comes less than two weeks after the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group challenged his rule.

"After 50 years of oppression under Baath rule, and 13 years of crimes and tyranny and displacement... we announce today the end of this dark period and the start of a new era for Syria," the rebel factions said on Telegram.

The rapid developments came just hours after the HTS said it had captured the strategic city of Homs, where prisoners were also released. Homs was the third major city seized by the rebels, who began their advance on November 27.

"We celebrate with the Syrian people the news of freeing our prisoners and releasing their chains," the rebels said. "The future is ours," leading rebel commander Abu Mohammed al-Jolani said in a statement read on Syria's state TV after his forces took over Damascus.

AFPTV footage showed a column of smoke rising from central Damascus, and AFP correspondents in the city saw dozens of men, women and children wandering through Assad's home after it had been looted and an entrance hall had been torched.

Elsewhere in the country, people toppled statues of Hafez al-Assad, Bashar al-Assad's father and the founder of the system of government that he inherited. Rebel factions aired a statement on Syrian state television, urging fighters and citizens to safeguard the "property of the free Syrian state".

The HTS is rooted in the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda. Proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Western governments, the HTS has sought to soften its image in recent years. Its top leader, al-Jolani, visited Damascus's landmark Umayyad Mosque, where crowds greeted him with smiles and embraces.

Before Sunday's announcements, residents had described a state of panic in Damascus, but morning saw chants and cheering, with celebratory gunfire. In the afternoon the rebels announced a curfew in the capital until 5:00 am Monday (today).

The commander of Syria's US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which controls much of northeast Syria, hailed as "historic" the fall of Assad's "authoritarian regime". Hezbollah, one of Assad's backers "vacated their positions around Damascus", a source close to the group said.

International reaction

UN war crimes investigators described Assad's fall as a "historic new beginning" for Syrians, urging those taking charge to ensure the "atrocities" committed under his rule are not repeated. The Amnesty International called the fall of Assad a "historic opportunity" to end decades of abuses.

World powers vowed to work for stability in Syria and the region, the White House said President Joe Biden was keeping a close eye on the "extraordinary events" unfolding in Syria,. US president-elect Donald Trump said that Assad had "fled his country" after losing Russia's backing.

Moscow said Russian troops in their bases in Syria were on high alert but that there was "no serious threat" to them. Beijing "is closely following the development of the situation in Syria and hopes that Syria returns to stability as soon as possible", the foreign ministry said.

Iran's foreign ministry said it expects "friendly" relations with Syria to continue, adding that it would adopt "appropriate approaches" towards Syria in accordance with the behaviour of "effective actors" in Damascus.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said his country, which has supported rebel movements in Syria, was "ready to take responsibility for all that is necessary to heal Syria's wounds and guarantee its unity, integrity and security".

Afghanistan's Taliban government congratulated the Syrian people and rebels, hoping a transition would lead to "an independent and service-oriented Islamic government" and a Syria "free from external interference".

Iraq urged respect for the "free will of all Syrians and emphasises that the security, territorial integrity and independence of Syria are of paramount importance," government spokesman Basim Alawadi said in a statement.

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the fall of Assad's "barbaric state" in Syria. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomed the fall of Assad as "good news" and urged a political solution to stabilise the war-stricken country.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for a peaceful and stable Syria. "Our focus is now on ensuring a political solution prevails, and peace and stability is restored," Starmer said, calling for the protection of civilians and minorities.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hailed the end of Syria's dictatorial regime. "After 14 years of brutal war and the fall of the dictatorial regime, today the people of Syria can seize an historic opportunity to build a stable and peaceful future," Guterres said in a statement.

Israel said it had deployed forces in the UN-monitored buffer zone with Syria and at a number of points necessary for defence. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the overthrow of Assad as a "historic day", saying that it a direct result of blows that Israel has dealt to Iran and its ally Hezbollah.

Israel also conducted three airstrikes against a major security complex in the Kafr Sousa district of the Syrian capital along with a research centre where it had previously said Iranian scientists developed missiles, two regional security sources told Reuters on Sunday.