Syrian civil war: Donald Trump says Assad ‘fled’ Syria after losing Russia’s support
US president-elect Donald Trump said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had “fled his country” after losing the backing of Russia. Follow for updates.
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US president-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had “fled his country” after losing the backing of Russia.
“Assad is gone,” he said on his Truth Social platform. “His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer.”
His comments came as the commander of Syria’s US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which controls swathes of the country’s northeast, hailed “historic” moments with the fall of the “authoritarian regime” of Assad.
“In Syria, we are living through historic moments as we witness the fall of the authoritarian regime in Damascus,” commander Mazloum Abdi said in a statement on Telegram, adding that “this change presents an opportunity to build a new Syria based on democracy and justice that guarantees the rights of all Syrians”.
A senior United Arab Emirates official urged Syrians on Sunday to collaborate to avert chaos after rebels said they had seized Damascus and announced the fall of President Bashar al-Assad.
“We hope that the Syrians will work together, that we don’t just see another episode of impending chaos,” presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain.
Syria’s capital woke up Sunday to chanting, cheering and gunfire in celebration of the fall of Assad.
“I can’t believe I’m living this moment,” tearful Damascus resident Amer Batha told AFP by phone from the capital’s Ummayad Square, where witnesses said dozens of people had gathered to celebrate.
“We’ve been waiting a long time for this day. We are starting a new history for Syria.”
At the dawn call to prayer, some mosques were broadcasting religious chants usually reserved for festive occasions, while also urging residents to stay home with the city engulfed in uncertainty just hours into the rebels’ takeover.
The UN special envoy to Syria said the country was at “a watershed moment” Sunday, after Islamist-led rebels declared they had taken Damascus, sending President Bashar al-Assad fleeing and ending five decades of Baath rule.Describing nearly 14 years of civil war in Syria as a “dark chapter (that) has left deep scars”, Geir Pedersen said in a statement that “today we look forward with cautious hope to the opening of a new one-one of peace, reconciliation, dignity, and inclusion for all Syrians”.
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REBELS DECLARE END OF ASSAD RULE IN SYRIA
Islamist-led rebels declared that they have taken Damascus in a lightning offensive on Sunday, sending President Bashar al-Assad fleeing and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria.
Residents in the Syrian capital were seen cheering in the streets of Damascus, as the rebel factions heralded the departure of “tyrant” Assad and “declare the city of Damascus free”.
The president’s reported departure comes less than two weeks after the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group launched its campaign challenging more than five decades of rule by the Assad family.
“After 50 years of oppression under Baath rule, and 13 years of crimes and tyranny and (forced) displacement … we announce today the end of this dark period and the start of a new era for Syria,” the rebel factions said on Telegram.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Jalali said he was ready to cooperate with “any leadership chosen by the Syrian people”.
The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, told media that “Assad left Syria via Damascus international airport before the army security forces left” the facility.
HTS said its fighters broke into a jail on the outskirts of the capital, announcing an “end of the era of tyranny in the prison of Sednaya” which has become a by-word for darkest abuses of the Syrian regime.
The rapid developments in Damascus came just hours after HTS said it had captured the strategic city of Homs, on the way to the capital.
The defence ministry earlier denied that rebels had entered Homs, describing the situation there as “safe and stable”.
Homs lies about 140km north of the capital and was the third major city seized by the rebels who began their advance on November 27, reigniting a years-long war that had become largely dormant.
Monitoring events in Damascus, the Britain-based Observatory confirmed “the doors of the infamous ‘Sednaya’ prison … have been opened for thousands of detainees who were imprisoned by the security apparatus throughout the regime’s rule”.
SYRIAN AND ARAB COMMUNITY STAGE RALLY IN SYDNEY
Sydney’s Syrian and Arab communities united for a celebration car rally at Rouse Hill in Sydney on Sunday night.
In a Facebook post, one of the organisers invited the community to join the rally in “solidarity with out people inside Syria and in joy in the victories of our people, God willing” and “to raise our voices and show the world we are together for better and worse”.
“This rally will symbolise the unity of Syrians abroad and support the resilience of our people. Let us come together to raise our voices and show the world we stand united in hardships and victories,” he wrote.
Ayman Salaeh, 47, who brought his entire family to the celebration, said al-Assad leaving meant freedom for not only Syrian residents, but all affected by his regime.
“The reason I had to move to Australia was because of this man and his regime – now, finally after 50 years, we have a result,” Mr Salaeh said.
“We are happy that he is gone because this means it’s hopefully the last of it, if we all get behind the new regime we have a chance to go back to how things should be.”
Mr Salaeh, who was one of thousands gathered at Rouse Hill Market Place on Sunday evening, said he was proud of people partying in the streets.
The said it showed how important regime change was to not only Syrians but to an entire Sydney community.
“All people have to do is look around and see,” he said.
“This is beautiful, our people have waited so long for this and finally it feels like the end.”
‘NEW ERA’: SYRIA REBELS SAY ‘TYRANT’ BASHAR AL-ASSAD HAS ‘FLED’
Syrian rebels claim that President Bashar al-Assad has fled the country, calling on citizens abroad to return to a “free Syria” and saying that Damascus was free of the “tyrant”.
“The tyrant Bashar al-Assad has fled” and “we declare the city of Damascus free”, the rebel factions said on Telegram, adding that “after 50 years of oppression under Baath rule, and 13 years of crimes and tyranny and (forced) displacement … we announce today the end of this dark period and the start of a new era for Syria”.
On Sunday the leader of Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, ordered forces not to approach official institutions in Damascus, saying they would remain under the prime minister until they are “officially” handed over.
“To all military forces in the city of Damascus, it is strictly forbidden to approach public institutions, which will remain under the supervision of the former prime minister until they are officially handed over,” Jolani said in a statement on Telegram, using his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa instead of his nom de guerre, and adding: “It is forbidden to shoot into the air.”
Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed al-Jalali said he was ready to “cooperate” with any leadership chosen by the people and for any handover process, after rebels said President Bashar al-Assad had fled the country.
“This country can be a normal country that builds good relations with its neighbours and the world … but this issue is up to any leadership chosen by the Syrian people. We are ready to cooperate with it (that leadership) and offer all possible facilities,” Jalali said in a speech broadcast on his Facebook account.
A Syria war monitor said that President Bashar al-Assad has left the country, after losing swathes of territory to a lightning offensive led by an Islamist-led rebel coalition that said it entered Damascus on Sunday.
Residents in the Syrian capital told media that heavy gunfire rang out, after a source close to Hezbollah saying fighters from the key Assad ally had left their positions around Damascus.
The president’s reported departure comes less than two weeks after the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group launched its campaign challenging more than five decades of rule by the Assad family.
“Assad left Syria via Damascus international airport before the army security forces left” the facility,” Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told media.
SYRIAN REBELS STORM IN AND TOPPLE STATUE
Syrian rebels have reached the suburbs of Damascus and toppled a statue as Bashar al-Assad holes up in his presidential palace.
Rebels attacking from the south now claim to control the southern neighbourhood of Darayya as they get closer to overthrowing the dictator.
Key cities, towns, and now parts of the capital have been seized by militants in an unprecedented lightning advance.
Locals of some Damascus suburbs said troops abandoned their stations and dressed in civilian clothes as rebel groups urged Assad’s supporters to defect.
A statue of Assad’s late father Hafez was toppled in Damascus’ eastern suburb of Jaramana, footage on social media shows.
Protesters ripped the head off the giant bust, just six miles from the centre of the city, before attacking posters of Assad and demanding security forces leave the area.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said insurgents are now active in three Damascus suburbs, including Maadamiyah, Jaramana and Daraya – making it the first time they have reached the outskirts of the city since 2018, when government forces recaptured the area after a years-long siege.
They have also claimed Deir el Zor in the east, Suweida, Quneitra and Deraa in the south.
Rebel leader Hassan Abdul-Ghani posted on the Telegram messaging app that opposition forces have started the “final stage” of their offensive – by encircling Damascus.
According to a statement made by his office, Mr Assad is still in the capital, with officials hitting out at “false news” about the president leaving the country.
Government forces – long propped up by Russia and Iran – have crumbled across the country, with insurgents seizing a number of major cities.
The Syrian army said in a statement Saturday that it has carried out redeployment and repositioning in Suweida and Deraa, both in the country’s deep south, after its checkpoints came under attack by “terrorists”.
The army said it is setting up a “strong and coherent defensive and security belt in the area,” apparently to defend Damascus from the south.
The rest of the Assad family has fled to Russia and Egypt and has asked the tyrant to form a government in exile, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pederson described the situation in the country as changing by the minute and called for peace talks.
Regime forces have withdrawn from a Syrian Air Force base in the southwest of Damascus as rebel fighters also attack a prison.
Turkish-backed Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HST) and allies launched an offensive on Assad’s government from the northwest corner of the country last week.
They quickly captured Aleppo and have continued advancing south – breaching defences and entering the key city of Homs today.
HTS is led by a group that has its origins in al Qaeda and is considered a terrorist organisation by the US and the United Nations.
According to the mayor of Iraqi border town of al Qaim, around 2,000 Syrian troops crossed into Iraq seeking refuge, with some wounded and receiving treatment.
Regime troops have focused on Homs – Syria’s third-largest city – to shore up a western city considered to be strategically located and key to the defence of Mr Assad.
Army and rebel sources cited by Reuters news agency said insurgents entered Homs from the north and east on Saturday, while Mr Abdul-Ghani claimed they have overrun an army camp and a string of villages around the city.
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