LIVE | Syrian rebels announce 'end of dark era' as President Assad flees
Syrian PM Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali has said the government is preparing to hand over power to the rebels
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has fled the country after rebels declared capital “free” following a surprising offensive.
AP quoting a Syrian state TV video said that Bashar has been officially overthrown while the rebels who stormed the city released all those incarcerated in Saydnaya Military Prison, situated north of Damascus.
“Militarily, Damascus has fallen,” CNN quoted a source familiar with the situation as saying.
"We announce today, 12-8-2024, the end of this dark era and the beginning of a new era for Syria," the rebels announced on Sunday (December 8).
The offensive marks the end of 50 years of rule by the Assad family and a moment that rebels called the “end of the era”.
According to reports, Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali has said that the government is preparing to hand over power to the rebels. In a video he was seen being escorted by the rebels.
The prime minister said the whereabouts of Assad and Syrian defence minister are unknown since Saturday night.
The rebels, according to reports, have said that they are in also touch with the senior officers of the Assad regime who are considering defecting.
AFP quoting a war monitor said that the Army and security forces had abandoned the Damascus International Airport before the capture of Damascus.
The rebel groups have so far captured 11 of the 14 provincial capitals.
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Live Updates
- 8 Dec 2024 5:26 PM IST
Assad has left Syria: Russian foreign ministry
The Russian Foreign Ministry says Assad has left office and departed the country after giving orders there be a peaceful handover of power.
In a statement, the ministry did not say where Assad was now and said Russia has not taken part in the talks around his departure.
It said Russia's military bases in Syria had been put on a state of high alert, but that there was no serious threat to them at the current time.
It said Moscow was in touch with all Syrian opposition groups and urged all sides to refrain from violence.
- 8 Dec 2024 5:23 PM IST
Hezbollah withdraws forces from Syria
Two Lebanese security sources familiar with the matter said that Lebanese armed group Hezbollah withdrew all of its forces from Syria on Saturday as rebel factions approached the capital Damascus, Reuters reported.
- 8 Dec 2024 5:18 PM IST
Suspected Israeli strikes hit Syria's Mazzeh
Suspected Israeli strikes hit Mazzeh district of Damascus, one Lebanese and one Syrian security source said on Sunday, news agency Reuters reported.
- 8 Dec 2024 5:17 PM IST
'New page is being written in the history,' says country's foreign ministry
The Syrian foreign ministry issued a statement, in which it said “A new page is being written in the history of Syria” today with the country having endured nearly 14 years of civil war.
In a post on X, it said, “Syrian brothers Today, a new page is being written in the history of Syria, to inaugurate a national covenant and charter that unites the word of the Syrians, unites them and does not divide them, in order to build one homeland in which justice and equality prevail and in which everyone enjoys all rights and duties, far from one opinion. And citizenship is the basis.”
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Syrian Arab Republic and its diplomatic missions abroad will remain committed to serving all fellow citizens and managing their affairs, based on the trust they bear in representing the Syrian people, and that the homeland remains supreme,” the post read.
- 8 Dec 2024 5:16 PM IST
'Will back peaceful, stable solution for Syria': Spain
Madrid wants "any solution for the future of Syria to be a peaceful one... that benefits the Syrian people and in some way brings new stability to the Middle East and not more instability", foreign minister Albares told Spanish public television.
- 8 Dec 2024 5:10 PM IST
China asks rebel forces to ensure safety of Chinese nationals in Syria
A concerned China on Sunday asked the rebel forces, which took control of the Syrian capital, overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad, to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals and its institutions in the country.
Reacting to the rebel takeover of Syria, China, which had backed the Assad regime, said it was closely following the situation in the Arab country and hoped that stability would return as soon as possible.
A Foreign Ministry statement here said the Chinese Embassy is open in Damascus and extending all possible assistance to its nationals.
"We urge relevant parties in Syria to ensure the safety and security of the Chinese institutions and personnel in Syria,” it said.
The Chinese government has been actively helping Chinese nationals who wish to leave the country to do so in a safe and orderly way, staying in contact with those still in Syria and offering them advice on how to stay safe, it said.
“The Chinese Embassy is still up and running and carrying out its duty in Syria. We will continue to make every possible assistance to Chinese nationals in need," it said.
- 8 Dec 2024 5:06 PM IST
Russia abandoned Assad, never should have been involved: Trump
US President-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday that Russia’s abandonment of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad led to his downfall, adding Moscow never should have protected him in the first place and then lost interest because of a war in Ukraine that never should have started.
“Assad is gone. He has fled his country. His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by (President) Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
“There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place,” Trump wrote. “They lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine…a war that should never have started, and could go on forever.”
- 8 Dec 2024 5:03 PM IST
Syrian PM ‘ready to support transition of power’
Syrian Prime Minister al-Jalali says he’s ready to support a transition of power and cooperate with the opposition after President al-Assad fled the country.
- 8 Dec 2024 4:58 PM IST
Diplomats left Iranian embassy in Damascus before 'assault'
Iranian media reported that Iranian diplomats in Damascus evacuated their embassy before it was attacked on Sunday. This followed the Syrian rebels’ announcement of the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s Tehran-backed government. According to the Tehran Times, embassy staff were safely evacuated before the assault.
- 8 Dec 2024 4:58 PM IST
France hails fall of Assad, warns against 'extremism'
France on Sunday expressed support for the fall of Bashar al-Assad, describing it as an end to over a decade of "violent oppression against his own people." In a statement, Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine called on Syrians to embrace "unity and reconciliation, and to reject all forms of extremism."
