Syrian Despot Bashar Assad Falls Run To Exile
By Angel Lubowa and Agencies
THE joint rebels in have announced the fall of the 54 despotic rule of the Assads saying the
president fled and the capital Damascus is now in their hands.
Rebel forces in Damascus declared the capital city “free” of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad and that government forces were withdrawing.
Reports say that Assad had left Damascus by plane for an unknown destination as the assault on Damascus became unstoppable on Saturday.
Unverified footage shared on social media shows thousands of inmates have been freed from the notorious Saydnaya prison – where Assad’s opponents were tortured and executed
The rebel advance on Damascus comes after they said they had “fully liberated” the city of Homs.
On Saturday evening local time, opposition forces took the central city of Homs, Syria’s third largest, as government forces abandoned it.
The city stands at an important intersection between Damascus, the capital, and Syria’s coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus – the Syrian leader´s base of support and home to a Russian strategic naval base.
The rebels had already seized the cities of Aleppo and Hama, as well as large parts of the south in a lightning offensive that began on November 27.
But ended
Syria’s army command hadnotified officers that al-Assad’s 24-year authoritarian rule has ended.
The rebel groups HTS among the leading said that people displaced or imprisoned under the half-century reign of Assad can now come home.
HTS, the group leading the rebel offensive in Syria, is a powerful Islamist organisation that has maintained de facto control of Idlib for several years.
The group, led by Abu Mohammad al-Julani, solidified in 2017 as a conglomeration of various Islamist factions but traces its roots to al-Qaeda.
HTS’ core component arose from a group once known as Jabhat al-Nusra – al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch – but later sought to reposition itself as a legitimate Syrian nationalist organisation.
It officially severed ties with al-Qaeda and created a civilian arm known as the ‘Salvation Government’ through which it seeks to govern in Syria, insisting it has no ambition to expand beyond the nation’s borders.
Initial reports from civilians in Aleppo have appeared to suggest that HTS militants have treated inhabitants well after ousting Syrian government forces.
The rebels said they will momentarily settle leadership in the hands of the prime minister as they chart a way forward.
Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said he does not plan on leaving his home in thr capital to ensure that public institutions continue to function.
Assad took power in 2000 after the death of his father Hafez Al Assad who ruled from 1971.
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