People celebrate in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana on Sunday
DAILY MAIL | Published December 8, 2024
Islamist-led rebels took Damascus on Sunday after a lightning offensive, sending President Bashar al-Assad fleeing and ending five decades of Baath party rule in Syria.
Residents in the capital were seen cheering in the streets as the rebel factions heralded the departure of “tyrant” Assad, saying: “We declare the city of Damascus free.”
AFPTV images from Damascus showed rebels firing into the air at sunrise, with some flashing the victory sign and crying “Allahu akbar”, or God is greatest.
Some people climbed atop a tank in celebration, while others battered a toppled statue of Assad’s father, Hafez.
“I can’t believe I’m living this moment,” tearful Damascus resident Amer Batha told AFP by phone.
“We’ve been waiting a long time for this day,” he said, adding: “We are starting a new history for Syria.”
Assad’s reported departure comes less than two weeks after the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group challenged more than five decades of Assad family rule with a lightning offensive.
“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 war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, told AFP: “Assad left Syria via Damascus international airport before the army security forces left” the facility.
AFP was unable to immediately confirm the report.
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SOURCE: www.dailymail.co.uk
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Syria’s civil war, which began with Assad’s crackdown on democracy protests, has killed more than 5,00,000 people.
NDTV WORLD | Published December 8, 2024
As the fighting between the forces led by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the anti-government rebels raged on, the rebels on Sunday announced full control of Homs, the third main city in the nation, and the capital Damascus. The rebel alliance, led by Islamist leader Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, launched its offensive on November 27. Since then, Aleppo – the second largest city, and Hamas fell to them.
Syria’s civil war, which began with Assad’s crackdown on democracy protests, has killed more than 5,00,000 people and forced more than half the population to flee their homes. According to the United Nations, the violence has displaced 3.7 lakh people.
US President-elect Donald Trump reacted to the raging conflict in Syria, saying that the US should “not get involved” in the situation. “Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, and the United States should have nothing to do with it. This is not our fight. Let it play out. Do not get involved,” he said on his Truth Social platform.
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SOURCE: www.ndtvworld.com
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