The Islamist HTS fighters and their allied militias had advanced with incredible speed from the northwest of the country since the end of November, had taken large cities in a flash and were at the gates of Damascus within just a few days. The Syrian army gave up many positions without a fight.
Now the militias announced on state television on Sunday that the “tyrant” Assad had been overthrown and Damascus had been liberated. The fighters called on Syrians who had fled abroad to return to a “free Syria”.
They read a statement saying that “all those unjustly imprisoned” should be released. Fighters and citizens were called upon to protect the property of the Syrian state.
In a square in central Damascus, a statue of Hafez al-Assad, the father of Bashar al-Assad, was toppled and smashed, according to AFP images.
As AFP reporters reported, the reception hall of Assad’s presidential palace was set on fire and his residence had previously been looted. The Assad clan had ruled the country with an iron hand for over 50 years.
Assad left Syria via Damascus international airport before the army and security forces withdrew there, said the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman. Assad’s ally Russia confirmed Assad’s resignation and departure.
Maslum Abdi, the leader of the Kurdish fighter-dominated and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), spoke of the “chance to build a new Syria based on democracy and justice and guaranteeing the rights of all Syrians.”
The head of government under Assad, Mohammed al-Jalali, said in a video on the Internet service Facebook that he was ready to cooperate with “any leadership that determines the Syrian people.”
According to sources close to the Lebanese Hezbollah, the pro-Iranian militia allied with Assad withdrew its fighters from the Syrian city of Homs and the outskirts of the capital Damascus. Some of them were supposed to go to Latakia in Syria, others to the Hermel region in Lebanon.
The leader of the HTS fighters, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, arrived in Damascus on Sunday, according to the group. He “kissed the ground” there, explained the HTS on the Telegram online service. Al-Jolani banned fighters in the capital Damascus from approaching public facilities or firing into the air.
However, the Iranian embassy in Damascus was looted. Iranian state television showed images of the devastation. The country’s central bank was also attacked by looters, AFP images showed.
The HTS also said its fighters had entered the notorious Sednaya prison on the outskirts of Damascus. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that the prison’s doors had been opened to “thousands of prisoners.”
Turkey, which has supported militias in northern Syria for years, called on millions of Syrian refugees to return to their homeland at a political conference in Qatar. It is now time for Syrians to “unite and rebuild the country.” Fidan also called for cooperation “with the Syrian people” and international actors to enable a “smooth” transfer of power.
Israel responded to developments in Syria by sending troops to the demilitarized buffer zone with Syria in the Golan Heights. This was done, among other things, because of the danger that “armed groups” could penetrate there, the army explained. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Israeli army attacked Syrian army positions near Damascus, particularly weapons depots.
The federal government welcomed the fall of Assad – and called for the protection of all population groups in Syria. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wrote in a statement that it was “good news” and called for protection for “all religious communities, all minorities.” Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) expressed the hope that Syria would not fall “into the hands of other radicals”.
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on the online service X: “The state of barbarism has fallen. Finally.” France will “continue to work for the security of everyone in the Middle East.” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas viewed Assad’s fall as a sign of the “weakness” of his Russian and Iranian supporters.
After years of largely stalemate in the Syrian civil war, the Islamist fighters surprisingly launched a major offensive against government troops on November 27th. The civil war began in 2011 after Assad used violence to suppress pro-democracy protests. Half a million people have been killed in Syria and millions more displaced.
HTS emerged from the Al-Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of the Al-Qaeda terrorist network, but says it has no longer had any connections to Al-Qaeda since 2016.
