Syrian rebels have taken Damascus on Sunday, sending President Bashar al-Assad fleeing and ending five decades of Baath rule.
Syrians celebrate the taking over of the capital Damascus by Syrian rebel fighters in Beirut’s Triq al Jdideh neighbourhood on 8 December 2024. Picture: Ibrahim Amro/ AFP
After that, the army and security forces pulled out of the airport, with commercial flights already suspended earlier, added the Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources on the ground. One eyewitness, requesting anonymity, told AFP they saw dozens of military vehicles abandoned in the upscale Mazzeh district, home to military and security headquarters, embassies and United Nations offices.
Hundreds of soldiers and rebel fighters have been killed since the offensive began, with fierce battles in the country’s north particularly in the first few days. Thirteen years of civil war have exhausted Syria’s military equipment and army, which has lost around half of its personnel, estimated at 300,000 before 2011.
Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed al-Jalali, who took up the post in September, said in a message broadcast on his Facebook page that he was ready to “cooperate” with the leadership chosen by the Syrian people and for any handover procedures.The leader of Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, ordered forces Sunday not to approach official institutions in Damascus, saying they would remain under the prime minister until they are officially handed over.
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