MOSCOW: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family arrived in Russia and were granted asylum by Russian authorities after his ouster, Russian news agencies reported Sunday, citing a Kremlin source.
The Interfax news agency quoted the anonymous source as saying: “Syrian President Assad has arrived in Moscow. Russia granted him (and his family) asylum on humanitarian grounds.”
Earlier, two Syrian sources said there was a very high probability that Assad was killed in a plane crash, as the reason the plane made a surprise U-turn and disappeared from the map was a mystery, according to data from the Flightradar site.
Israel pushed its tanks across the border into the buffer zone with Syria after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was toppled earlier Sunday after rebel forces captured the capital Damasus.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the army to “seize” a UN-monitored buffer zone between the Israeli-occupied and Syrian-controlled Golan Heights.
He said a 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria “collapsed”, and so he “ordered (the army) yesterday to seize the buffer zone and nearby command positions” .
“We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border,” he added.
Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that Assad had left office and left the country after being ousted by Syrian rebels, who ended 50 years of Assad’s dynasty in a lightning offensive that raised fears of a new wave of instability in the Middle East.
In a statement, the ministry said Assad had ordered a peaceful transfer of power, but did not say where he was currently. The ministry denied Russia’s role in negotiations over his departure and added that Russian military bases in Syria were on high alert, although they did not present any serious threat at the moment.
The Syrian army command informed its officers that Assad’s rule had ended, a Syrian officer briefed on the decision told Reuters.
But the Syrian army later said it was continuing operations against “terrorist groups” in the cities of Hama, Homs and rural Daraa.
Dozens of Syrians entered Assad’s luxury house in Damascus after it was looted on Sunday, an AFP correspondent noted, after the capital fell to rebel forces.
Women, children and men inspected the six-story house and its large garden, the entrance to the burned residence and the completely empty rooms, except for some furniture and a portrait of Assad thrown to the ground. .
Assad, who had crushed all forms of dissent, left Damascus on Sunday for an unknown destination, two senior army officers told Reuters, as rebels said they entered the capital without any sign of deployment of the army.
“We celebrate with the Syrian people the news of the release of our prisoners, the release from their chains and the announcement of the end of the era of injustice in Sednaya prison,” the rebels said, making referring to a large military prison located on the outskirts of Damascus where the Syrian government has detained thousands of people.
Thousands of people, in cars or on foot, gathered in a main square in Damascus, waving and chanting “Freedom” from half a century of Assad family rule, witnesses said.
The dramatic collapse also marks a seismic moment for the Middle East, dealing a blow to Russia and Iran, who have lost a key ally at the heart of the region and creating more uncertainty as the offensive on Gaza is raging.
The pace of events has stunned Arab capitals and raised fears of a new wave of regional instability.
It marks a turning point for Syria, shattered by more than 13 years of war that has reduced cities to rubble, killed hundreds of thousands and forced millions to flee abroad.
Stabilization of western areas of Syria captured during the rebel advance will be essential. Western governments, which have shunned the Assad-led state for years, must decide how to handle a new administration in which a globally designated terrorist group – Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – appears poised to exert influence.
HTS, which led the rebel advance into western Syria, was once an al-Qaeda affiliate known as the Nusra Front until its leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani broke away. links with the global jihadist movement in 2016.
“The real question is how orderly this transition will be, and it seems clear that Golani really wants it to be orderly,” said Joshua Landis, an expert on Syria and director of the Center for Studies. on the Middle East at the University. from Oklahoma.
Golani won’t want a repeat of the chaos that swept Iraq after U.S.-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. “They’re going to have to rebuild…they’re going to need Europe and the U.S. lift the sanctions,” Landis said.
HTS is Syria’s most powerful rebel group and some Syrians fear it will impose draconian religious rule or incite reprisals.
A Syrian airline plane took off from Damascus airport when the capital was reportedly taken by rebels, according to data from the Flightradar website.
The plane initially headed toward the Syrian coastal region, stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect, but then made an abrupt U-turn and flew in the opposite direction for a few minutes before disappearing from the map.
Reuters could not immediately determine who was on board.
“It disappeared from the radars, it is possible that the transponder was turned off, but I think the greater probability is that the plane was shot down…” a Syrian source said without further details.
As Syrians expressed their joy, Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said the country should hold free elections so Syrians can choose who they want.
But that would require a smooth transition in a country with complex competing interests, moving from combatants to groups with ties to the United States, Russia and Turkey.
Jalali also said he had been in contact with rebel commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani to discuss the management of the current transition period, marking a notable development in efforts to shape Syria’s political future.
Jordan affirmed on Sunday the importance of preserving the stability and security of Syria, the official news agency reported.
US President Joe Biden and his team were monitoring the “extraordinary events in Syria” and were in contact with regional partners, the White House said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Assad had left office and left the country after ordering a peaceful transfer of power.
In a statement, the ministry did not specify where Assad was currently located and said Russia had not participated in talks regarding his departure. He added that Russian military bases in Syria have been placed on high alert, but currently pose no serious threat.
Syria’s civil war, which erupted in 2011 as an uprising against Assad’s regime, has attracted major outside powers, created space for militants to plan attacks around the world and sent millions refugees in neighboring states.
The front lines of Syria’s complex civil war have lain dormant for years. Then fighters formerly affiliated with al-Qaeda suddenly sprang into action, posing the greatest challenge to Assad, who had survived years of grueling war and international isolation with help from Russia, Iran and of Lebanese Hezbollah.
But Assad’s allies were focused and weakened by other crises, leaving Assad at the mercy of his opponents with an army that was not prepared to defend him.
Israel, which has severely weakened Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, will likely celebrate the fall of Assad, another key regional ally of Iran. But the prospect of a radical religious group ruling Syria will likely raise concerns.
Thousands of Homs residents took to the streets after the army withdrew from the city center, dancing and chanting “Assad is gone, Homs is free” and “Long live Syria and down with Bashar al-Assad.”
Men wave flags as people celebrate, after Syrian rebels announced they had overthrown President Bashar al-Assad, in Qamishli, Syria, December 8. —Reuters
Rebels fired into the air in celebration, and youths tore down posters of the Syrian president, whose territorial control collapsed during a dizzying week-long army retreat.
The capture of Homs gave insurgents control of Syria’s strategic heart and a key road junction, cutting off Damascus from the coastal region that is the stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect and where his Russian allies have a stronghold. naval base and an air base.
The capture of Homs is also a powerful symbol of the spectacular return of the rebel movement. Swaths of Homs were destroyed in a grueling siege war between rebels and the army years ago. The fighting crushed the insurgents who were driven out.
The rebels freed thousands of inmates from the city’s prison. The security forces left in a hurry after burning their documents.
The leader of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Abdi, said on X on Sunday: “We are witnessing historic moments in Syria with the fall of the authoritarian regime in Damascus. This change presents an opportunity to build a new Syria based on democracy and justice, guaranteeing the rights of all Syrians.
Iranian embassy stormed in Damascus
The Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital was stormed on Sunday by rebels after the capture of Damascus and the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Iran’s ally, Iranian state television reported.
“The Iranian embassy is said to have been stormed alongside nearby shops by a different armed group from the one currently controlling (most of) Syria,” Iranian state television said, referring to in Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), spearhead of the rebel advance. throughout western Syria.
Footage taken inside the embassy premises was shared by Saudi channel al-Arabiya, showing that the attackers had searched furniture and documents inside the building and damaged some windows. Reuters was unable to verify the videos.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Sunday that Iranian diplomats left the embassy early in the morning, before any attack.
Iranian state television said HTS had guaranteed there would be no disruption at the Sayeda Zeinab and Sayeda Ruqqaya shrines in Damascus.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said Sunday that all Iranian shrine servants had returned to Iran before rebels captured Damascus.
