It is reported that President Assad has fled Syria as the rebels entered the capital Damascus

A Syrian opposition war monitor and two senior military officials said Sunday morning that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has left the country as rebels claim to have entered Damascus following dramatic developments across the country, with residents of the capital reporting the sound of gunfire and explosions.

Rami Abdurrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told The Associated Press that Assad took a flight from Damascus early Sunday. Reuters reported the same, citing two military officials.

State television in Iran, Assad’s main supporter in years of war in Syria, reported that he had left the capital. It cited Qatari news network Al Jazeera for the information and did not elaborate.

There is no official statement from the Syrian government.

Syria’s Prime Minister, Mohammed Ghazi Jalali, said the government is ready to “reach out” to the opposition and hand over its duties to the interim government.

“I am in my house and I have not left, and this is because I belong to this country,” Jalali said in a video statement. He said he will go to his office to continue work in the morning and asked Syrians not to pollute public property.

He did not respond to reports that Assad has left the country.

An Associated Press reporter in Damascus reported seeing groups of armed civilians on a street on the outskirts of the capital and hearing gunfire. The police headquarters in this city appeared to be abandoned, its door was left open and there were no police officers outside.

Another AP reporter shot photos of an abandoned military checkpoint where uniforms were thrown to the ground under a poster of Assad’s face.

Residents of the capital reported the sound of gunfire and explosions. Videos released by opposition-linked media showed a tank in one of the scenes in the center of the capital, while a group of people gathered to celebrate. Calls saying “God is great” could be heard in the churches.

It was the first time opposition forces had reached the outskirts of Damascus since 2018, when the Syrian army recaptured the area following a years-long siege.

The pro-government radio station Sham FM reported that Damascus airport was evacuated and all flights were grounded.

The militants also announced that they had entered the notorious Saydnaya military prison north of the capital and “liberated our prisoners” there.

The night before, opposition forces captured the central city of Homs, Syria’s third largest city, as government forces abandoned it. The city stands at a key crossroads between Damascus, the capital, and the Syrian coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus – the Syrian leader’s base of support and home to a Russian military base.

Sham FM reported that government forces took positions outside Syria’s third largest city, without elaborating. Abdurrahman, of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that the Syrian army and members of various security agencies have withdrawn from the city, adding that the rebels have entered some parts of it.

The rebels announced on Saturday that they have taken over Homs. The capture of Homs is a major victory for the insurgents, who have already captured the cities of Aleppo and Hama, as well as large parts of the south, in a campaign that began on November 27. a game changer.

The movement of rebels to Damascus came after the Syrian army withdrew from much of the south of the country, leaving many areas, including provincial capitals, under the control of the opposition.

If Damascus falls to the opposition forces, the government will have control over only two of the 14 provincial capitals: Latakia and Tartus.

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The development this past week was one of the biggest in recent years for the opposition, led by a group with roots in al-Qaeda and considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the United Nations. As they advanced, the insurgents – led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS – group met little resistance from the Syrian army.

The rebels’ rapid gains, coupled with the support of Assad’s old supporters, have been the biggest threat to his rule since the war began.

The UN’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, on Saturday called for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an “orderly political transition.” Speaking to reporters at the annual Doha conference in Qatar, he said the situation in Syria is changing by the minute.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, whose country is Assad’s biggest international supporter, said he “sympathizes with the Syrian people.”

In Damascus, people rushed to collect goods. Thousands rushed to the border between Syria and Lebanon, trying to leave the country.

Many shops in the capital are closed, a resident told The Associated Press, and those that remain open have run out of basic items such as sugar. Some stores were selling items at three times the normal price.

The UN said it was moving non-essential personnel out of the country as a precautionary measure.

Assad is isolated

Assad has had little, if any, help from his allies. Russia is busy with its war in Ukraine. Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which once sent thousands of troops to bolster Assad’s forces, has been weakened by a year-long conflict with Israel. Iran has seen its proxies across the region decimated by regular Israeli airstrikes.

US President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday posted on social media that the US should avoid military involvement in Syria.

Pedersen said the date of the talks in Geneva regarding the implementation of UN Resolution 2254 will be announced later. This resolution, which was adopted in 2015, proposed a Syrian-led political process, starting with the establishment of an interim governing body, followed by the drafting of a new constitution and ending with elections overseen by the UN.

Later on Saturday, foreign ministers and senior politicians from eight key countries – including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Egypt, Turkey and Iran – and Pedersen, met on the sidelines of the Doha summit to discuss the situation in Syria.

In a statement issued late Saturday, the participants affirmed their support for a political solution to the Syrian crisis “that will lead to an end to the war and protect civilians.” They also agreed on the importance of strengthening international efforts to increase aid to the Syrian people.

Guerrilla march

Abdurrahman, of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that the rebels are in the Damascus areas of Maadamiyah, Jaramana and Daraya. Opposition forces were also marching from eastern Syria towards the Damascus suburb of Harasta, he said.

HTS controls much of Northwestern Syria, and in 2017 established a “salvation government” to run day-to-day affairs in the region. In recent years, HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani has attempted to rebrand the group, cut ties with al-Qaeda, ditch hardline officials and vow to embrace diversity and religious tolerance.

The shocking offensive began on November 27, when gunmen captured the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, and the central city of Hama, the country’s fourth largest city.

Opposition activists said last Saturday, militants entered Palmyra, home to important archaeological sites that have been in government hands since they were taken from the Islamic State group in 2017.

To the south, Syrian forces have left most of Quneitra province, including the main Baath City, activists said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government forces had withdrawn from most of the two southern provinces.

The Syrian army said in a statement on Saturday that it had redeployed and repositioned areas in Sweida and Daraa after attacks by “terrorists.” The army said it was imposing “a strong and consistent belt of defense and security in the area,” apparently to protect Damascus in the south.

The Syrian government has labeled opposition gunmen as terrorists since the outbreak of war in March 2011.