Rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, declared a “historic” victory from Damascus’s Umayyad Mosque after his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group seized control of the Syrian capital, forcing President Bashar al-Assad to flee to Moscow. Al-Sharaa celebrated the end of Assad’s oppressive rule and the purification of Syria from Iranian influence and sectarianism.
THE TIMES OF INDIA | Published December 9, 2024
Rebel forces, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), seized control of Syria’s capital, Damascus, on Sunday after a swift offensive lasting less than two weeks. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow, according to Russian news agencies.
HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, using his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa, delivered a victory speech from the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. “This victory, my brothers, is historic for the region,” al-Sharaa said in a video statement shared on Telegram.
He declared the takeover a victory ‘for the entire Islamic nation’ and stated that “Today, Syria is being purified”. He added that “this victory is born from the people who have languished in prison, and the mujahideen (fighters) broke their chains.”
Al-Sharaa criticised Assad’s rule, saying Syria had become a center for ‘Iranian ambitions, where sectarianism was rife,’ referring to Assad’s allies, Iran and Hezbollah.
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SOURCE: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com
RELATED: ‘New history written’ says HTS leader al-Julani in Syria victory speech
Al-Julani speaks from Damascus’s historic Ummayad Mosque, tells Syrians that building a new country will be ‘hard work’.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Abu Mohammed al-Julani speaks to a crowd at Ummayad Mosque in Damascus, after Syrian rebels announced that they had ousted President Bashar al-Assad, on December 8, 2024 [Mahmoud Hassano/Reuters]
AL JAZEERA | Published December 9, 2024
The leader of the main Syrian opposition armed group that seized Syria’s capital, Abu Mohammed al-Julani, has said the Syrian people are the “rightful owners” of the country after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, and declared a “new history” has been written for the entire Middle East.
Arriving in Damascus just hours after his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group led the capture of the city on Sunday, the leader gave a victory speech in the capital’s symbolic Umayyad Mosque.
As daylight broke, Syrians woke up to a dramatically changed country, after opposition forces swept into Damascus following a lightning offensive. They declared that they had toppled the government of “tyrant” Bashar al-Assad, who fled Syria in the early hours of Sunday and is in Russia, according to Russian media reports.
“The [al-Assad] regime has imprisoned thousands of its own civilians unjustly and without them committing any crimes,” al-Julani told a crowd gathered at the Umayyad Mosque.
“We [the Syrian people] are the rightful owners [of this country]. We have been fighting, and today we have been rewarded with this victory.”
“How many people were displaced across the world? How many people lived in tents? How many drowned in the seas?” asked al-Julani, who has begun to go by his real name, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
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SOURCE: www.aljazeera.com
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