In Syria the rebels said on Sunday that they have ended Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year authoritarian rule, in their first announcement on state television following a lightning offensive that took the world by surprise.
“We celebrate with the Syrian people the news of freeing our prisoners and releasing their chains and announcing the end of the era of injustice in Sednaya prison,” Syria’s rebels said, referring to a large military prison on the outskirts of Damascus where the Syrian government detained thousands.
Dramatic Collapse
Thousands in cars and on foot congregated at a main square in Syria’s capital Damascus waving and chanting “Freedom” from a half century of Assad family rule, witnesses said.
The dramatic collapse marks a seismic moment for the Middle East, ending the family’s iron-fisted rule over Syria and dealing a massive blow to Russia and Iran, which have lost a key ally at the heart of the region.
The pace of events has stunned Arab capitals and raised fears of a new wave of regional instability.
Where Is Assad?
A Syrian Air plane took off from Damascus airport around the time the capital was reported to have been taken by Syria’s rebels, according to data from the Flightradar website.
The aircraft initially flew towards Syria’s coastal region, a stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect, but then made an abrupt U-turn and flew in the opposite direction for a few minutes
before disappearing off the map.
Reuters could not immediately ascertain who was on board.
Two sources in Syria said there was a very high probability that Assad may have been killed in a plane crash as it was a mystery why the plane took a surprise U turn and disappeared off the map according to data from the Flightradar website.
“It disappeared off the radar, possibly the transponder was switched off, but I believe the bigger probability is that the aircraft was taken down…,” said one Syrian source without
elaborating.
The head of Syria’s main opposition group abroad, Hadi al-Bahra Syrian, declared Damascus was now “without Bashar al-Assad”.
As Syrians expressed joy, Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said he was ready to support the continuity of governance and prepared to cooperate with any leadership chosen by the Syrian people.
U.S. President Joe Biden and his team were monitoring the “extraordinary events in Syria” and were in touch with regional partners, the White House said.
With Reuters inputs
