Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) shakes hands with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a meeting in Sochi on November 20, 2017.
Ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow on Sunday, Russian media reported, hours after rebels launched a stunning offensive to seize the capital Damascus, ending 50 years of the Assad family’s iron grip. rule.
Russian news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti cited an unnamed Kremlin source as saying Assad and his family had been granted asylum in Moscow, his long-time ally and protector. The Associated Press could not immediately verify the reports but contacted the Kremlin for comment.
RIA Novosti also stated that Moscow has obtained assurances from Syrian rebels about the security of Russian military bases and diplomatic missions in Syria.
Assad reportedly left Syria early on Sunday, with celebratory gunfire echoing as Syrians poured into the streets after rebels’ stunning advance into the capital, ending the Assad family’s 50-year iron-fisted rule. .
The rapid events have raised questions about the future of the country and the wider region. Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky posted on Telegram that Russia has requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the situation in Syria.
Jubilant crowds gathered in Damascus squares waving Syrian revolutionary flags in scenes reminiscent of the early days of the Arab Spring uprisings before a brutal crackdown and the rise of insurgency plunged the country into nearly 14 years of civil war.
Others gleefully ransacked the presidential palace and official residences after Assad and other senior officials disappeared.
Former Al Qaeda commander Abu Mohammad Golani, who severed ties with the group years ago, says he embraces pluralism and religious tolerance, leads the largest rebel faction and is preparing to chart the country’s future.
In his first public appearance since militants entered the Damascus suburbs on Saturday, Golani visited the sprawling Umayyad mosque and called Assad’s fall “a victory for the Islamic state.” Referring to himself by his given name, Ahmad al-Sharaa, rather than a pseudonym, he told hundreds of people that Assad had made Syria “a farm of Iranian greed”.
In a war-torn country still divided by armed factions, the rebels face the daunting task of bridging deep divisions. Turkish-backed opposition fighters are fighting U.S.-allied Kurdish forces in the north, and the Islamic State group is still active in some remote areas.
Syrian state television earlier Sunday broadcast a rebel statement saying Assad had been overthrown and all prisoners had been released. They called on people to preserve the institutions of the “free Syrian state”. The rebels later announced a 4pm to 5am curfew in Damascus
The rebels said they were freeing people held in the notorious Saidnaya prison, where rights groups say thousands have been tortured and killed. A video circulating online purportedly showed rebels opening cell doors and releasing dozens of female prisoners, many of whom appeared shocked. Among them was at least one child.
“This feeling of happiness will only be complete when I see my son out of prison and know where he is,” said a relative, Bassam Masr. “I have been looking for him for two hours. . He has been imprisoned for 13 years.”
Rebel commander Anas Sarhadi later appeared on state television to try to reassure Syria’s religious and religious minorities, saying: “Syria is for everyone, without exception. Syria is for Druze, Sunni sects, Alawites and all sects.
“We will not treat people like the Assad family,” he added.
Celebrations in the capital
Damascus residents prayed in mosques and celebrated in squares, shouting “God is great”. People chanted anti-Assad slogans and honked car horns. The teenage boy picked up a weapon apparently discarded by security forces and fired into the air.
Revelers packed Umayyad Square, home to the Ministry of Defense. Some waved the three-star Syrian flag adopted by revolutionaries before Assad’s government was formed. Elsewhere, many parts of the capital were deserted and shops were closed.
Soldiers and police officers left their posts and fled, and looters broke into the Ministry of Defense. Video showed families wandering around the presidential palace, some carrying piles of plates and other household items.
“This is like a dream. I need someone to wake me up,” said rebel fighter Abu Rais, adding that the rebels were welcomed with “love” in Damascus.
At the Ministry of Justice, where rebels stood guard, Judge Hitam Haddad said they were protecting documents from the chaos. Outside, some residents sought information about relatives who disappeared under Assad’s rule.
The rebels “feel the pain of the people,” said one woman, who gave only her first name, Heba. She fears the insurgents, many of whom appear to be minors, may carry out revenge killings.
“Syria faces a new page. We thank God that more blood was not shed,” wrote the historically pro-government Syrian newspaper The National, adding that media workers should not be penalized for publishing past government statements. accused him of “just following the instructions.”
The Alawites, which form the core of Assad’s base, issued a statement calling on young Syrians to “be calm, rational and cautious and not to be dragged into things that undermine the unity of our country”.
The rebels are drawn primarily from Syria’s Sunni Muslim majority, which also has sizable Druze, Christian and Kurdish communities. In the northeastern city of Qamishli, a Kurdish man slapped a statue of late leader Hafez al-Assad with his shoe.
Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi Jalali said the government was ready to “reach out” to the opposition and hand over its functions to the transitional government. A video shared by Syrian opposition media showed armed men escorting him from his office to the Four Seasons Hotel on Sunday.
Anwar Gargash said Assad’s destination at this time was “a footnote in history” and compared it to the long exile of German Emperor Wilhelm II after the First World War.
Call for an orderly transition
Since November 27, the scale of the rebel attack has been the largest in recent years, with cities such as Aleppo, Hama and Homs falling within days as the Syrian army collapsed. Russia, Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group have provided Assad with vital support throughout the uprising but have abandoned him when he struggled in other conflicts.
The end of Assad’s rule is a major blow to Iran and its allies, already weakened by the conflict with Israel. Iran, which has strongly supported him during the civil war, said Syrians should decide their future “without destructive, coercive foreign intervention.” Iran’s embassy in Damascus was ransacked after it became apparent it was abandoned.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces occupied a buffer zone established in 1974 in the Golan Heights, saying it was to protect Israeli residents after Syrian forces abandoned their positions. The Israeli military later warned residents of five southern Syrian communities to stay home for safety but did not respond to questions.
Israel captured the Golan Heights in the 1967 Mideast War and later annexed it. The region is considered occupied by the international community except the United States, and the Arab League on Sunday condemned Israel’s attempts to exploit Assad’s fall to seize more territory.
The rebels are led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a group that originated from Al Qaeda and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the United Nations. Golani sought to reshape the organization into a force of moderation and tolerance.
“Golani made history and brought hope to millions of Syrians,” said Darlene Khalifa, senior adviser at the International Crisis Group. “But he and the rebels now face a daunting challenge.”
UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen called for urgent talks in Geneva on Saturday to ensure an “orderly political transition”.
Gulf state Qatar, a key regional mediator, hosted an emergency meeting on Saturday evening that included foreign ministers and senior officials from eight countries with interests in Syria. These include Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Türkiye.
Majed al-Ansari, spokesman for Qatar’s foreign ministry, said they agreed on the need to “engage all parties, including HTS” and that the main focus was “stability and a secure transition”.
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