THE Bashar al-Assad remains unaccounted for, while the jihadists entered Damascus. In the early hours of Sunday (8.12.2024) the jihadist rebels announced that Damascus is now free from the shackles of Assad, proclaiming that the “tyrant” Assad has fled, they called on those displaced abroad to return to the “free Syria».
The Reuters news agency reports that the leadership of the Syrian armed forces informed about the overthrow of the regime, citing an officer who received a relevant message. So far the fate of Bashar al-Assad is unknown.
At the same time, the head of the Syrian opposition abroad, Hadi al-Bahra, declared that “without Bashar al-Assad” it is now Damascus. “The black page in the history of Syria” is over, he commented.
President Assad reportedly boarded a plane that departed for an unknown destination, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. “Assad left Syria from Damascus International Airport before members of the armed forces and security services withdrew,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the non-governmental organization based in London but which maintains a wide network of sources. in Syria.
Damascus has fallen.
Syria has fallen.
Bashar al-Assad has fallen.
These scenes show the disappearance of the Syrian army and security forces from the streets, similar to what happened previously in Iraq.#Damascus #Syria #BasharAlAssad #SyrianArmy #Iraq pic.twitter.com/HyDnhGx4h5— khaled mahmoued (@khaledmahmoued1) December 8, 2024
The prime minister states that he is ready to cooperate for the smooth transfer of power
Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali said that he remains at home and is ready to cooperate for the smooth transfer of power, after the flight of President Bashar al-Assad and the entry of the rebels into the capital Damascus.
“This country can be a normal country, building good relations with its neighbors and with the whole world (…) but this issue will be the responsibility of any leadership chosen by the Syrian people and we are ready to cooperate with them,” he says between others by Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali in a video message he uploaded to Facebook.
The head of the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the Syrian rebel alliance, Ahmed al-Sara – better known as Abu Mohammed al-Jowlani – said state services would remain under the supervision of the “former prime minister” until to officially change the baton in power.
In Damascus the jihadists
The extremist Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which leads a rebel alliance in Syria, announced that its forces had entered Damascus. Meanwhile, President Bashar al-Assad has reportedly fled the country.
Meanwhile #Kurds are destroying Hafez Assad statue in downtown Qamishlo, NE Syria | #Assadgone #Damascus #Aleppo pic.twitter.com/fNtzlYQ4NK
— Mutlu Civiroglu (@mutludc) December 8, 2024
Two senior officers in the Syrian armed forces told Reuters news agency that President Assad boarded a plane which departed for an unknown destination. Earlier, soldiers and members of the security forces left the airport of the Syrian capital, as it became known from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the non-governmental organization based in London but with a wide network of sources in Syria, said government forces had been ordered to withdraw from Damascus international airport.
“Our forces have begun to enter Damascus,” the Islamist organization Hayat al-Tahrir announced via Telegram at dawn. At the same time, it said that its fighters had taken over Sednaya prison on the outskirts of the capital, freeing the prisoners. “We celebrate with the Syrian people the news of the release of our prisoners from their shackles and the announcement of the end of the era of injustice in Sednaya prison,” he adds.
“The doors of Sednaya prison, known as a ‘human slaughterhouse’, have been opened to thousands of prisoners,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is dominated by al-Qaeda’s former arm in Syria, and other rebel groups launched attacks against the Syrian army last week, quickly capturing dozens of communities and strategic towns, gradually encircling the capital before they launch their final attack.