Syrian rebels say they have toppled Assad in state television announcement
AMMAN/BEIRUT/CAIRO -Syrian 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," the rebels said, referring to a large military prison on the outskirts of Damascus where the Syrian government detained thousands. "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 frontlines of Syria's complex civil war were dormant for years. Then Islamists once affiliated with Al Qaeda suddenly burst into action, posing the biggest challenge to Assad, who had survived years of gruelling war and international isolation with the help of Russia, Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah.
Just hours before reaching Damascus, rebels announced they had gained full control of the key city of Homs after only a day of fighting, leaving Assad's 24-year rule dangling by a thread.
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