SYRIA’S government has fallen in a stunning end to the 50-year rule of the Assad family after rebels seized Damascus in a lightning blitz.
Assad fled the capital in a plane early Sunday as the butcher’s rule was overthrown by the militants in just 10 days.
AFPSyrian rebel fighters and locals celebrate after seizing the central city of Homs[/caption]
AFPPeople celebrate at Umayyad Square in Damascus on Sunday morning[/caption]
AFPPeople remove a government banner in Damascus as the government was overthrown[/caption]
Rebels stormed into Damascus on Saturday after seizing cities and towns in an almost unchecked advance from the south.
The regime’s dramatic collapse marks a seismic moment for the Middle East and deals a massive blow to Russia and Iran, which have lost a key ally at the heart of the region.
Syria has been shattered by more than 13 years of a civil war that has turned cities to rubble, killed hundreds of thousands of people, and forced millions abroad as refugees.
The country’s prime minister said the regime was now preparing to hand over its operations to the rebels.
Fighters escorted the PM from his home to their hotel headquarters as the transition begins.
Rami Abdurrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group, said Assad took a flight from Damascus early Sunday.
There has been no official statement from Assad’s government.
Assad has flown to the Russian-operated Khmeimim Air Base in a part of Syria still loyal to the regime, Walla reports.
US officials believe he was intending to travel to Moscow, but there is no indication yet whether he has left the country.
Meanwhile, rebel fighters have posted footage from inside Assad’s presidential palace as they celebrate their stunning win.
Statues of the Assad family have been toppled around the country with a bust of Hafez being decapitated late Saturday.
Rebel fighters attacking from the south arrived in Damascus yesterday after quickly advancing through the countryside.
Last night, opposition forces also seized control the key city of Homs, Syria’s third largest, as government forces abandoned it.
It was the first time opposition forces had reached Damascus since 2018 when Syrian troops recaptured areas on the outskirts of the capital following a years-long siege.
A number of countries have closed border crossings with Syria as the chaos unfolds, including Lebanon and Jordan.
APSyrian President Bashar Assad has now fled the country, an opposition group says[/caption]
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