Syrian government appears to have fallen in stunning end to 50-year rule of Assad family : NPR

BEIRUT — The Syrian authorities appeared to have fallen early Sunday in a shocking finish to the 50-year rule of the Assad household after a lightning insurgent offensive.

The top of a Syrian opposition warfare monitor mentioned President Bashar Assad had left the nation for an undisclosed location, fleeing forward of insurgents who mentioned they’d entered Damascus after a remarkably swift advance throughout the nation.

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali mentioned the federal government was able to “prolong its hand” to the opposition and hand over its features to a transitional authorities.

“I’m in my home and I’ve not left, and that is due to my belonging to this nation,” Jalili mentioned in a video assertion. He mentioned he would go to his workplace to proceed work within the morning and referred to as on Syrian residents to not deface public property.

He didn’t deal with studies that Assad had left the nation.

Rami Abdurrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights instructed The Related Press that Assad took a flight Sunday from Damascus.

State tv in Iran, Assad’s predominant backer within the years of warfare in Syria, reported that Assad had left the capital. It cited Qatar’s Al Jazeera information community for the knowledge and didn’t elaborate.

There was no quick assertion from the Syrian authorities.

An Related Press journalist in Damascus reported seeing teams of armed residents alongside the street within the outskirts of the capital and listening to sounds of gunshots. Town’s predominant police headquarters seemed to be deserted, its door left ajar with no officers exterior. One other AP journalist shot footage of an deserted military checkpoint the place uniforms had been discarded on the bottom below a poster of Assad’s face.

Residents of the capital reported listening to gunfire and explosions. Footage broadcast on opposition-linked media confirmed a tank in one of many capital’s central squares whereas a small group of individuals gathered in celebration. Calls of “God is nice” rang out from mosques.

It was the primary time opposition forces had reached Damascus since 2018, when Syrian troops recaptured areas on the outskirts of the capital following a yearslong siege.

The professional-government Sham FM radio reported that the Damascus airport had been evacuated and all flights halted.

The insurgents additionally introduced they’d entered the infamous Saydnaya navy jail north of the capital and “liberated” their prisoners there.

The evening earlier than, opposition forces took the central metropolis of Homs, Syria’s third largest, as authorities forces deserted it. Town stands at an vital intersection between Damascus, the capital, and Syria’s coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus — the Syrian chief’s base of assist and residential to a Russian strategic naval base.

The rebels had already seized the cities of Aleppo and Hama, in addition to giant elements of the south, in a lightning offensive that started Nov. 27. Analysts mentioned insurgent management of Homs could be a game-changer.

The rebels’ strikes into Damascus got here after the Syrian military withdrew from a lot of southern a part of the nation, leaving extra areas, together with a number of provincial capitals, below the management of opposition fighters.

The autumn of Damascus would depart authorities forces answerable for solely two of 14 provincial capitals: Latakia and Tartus.

The advances prior to now week had been by far the biggest lately by opposition factions, led by a gaggle that has its origins in al-Qaida and is taken into account a terrorist group by the U.S. and the United Nations. Of their push to overthrow Assad’s authorities, the insurgents, led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, have met little resistance from the Syrian military.

The speedy insurgent features, coupled with the shortage of assist from Assad’s erstwhile allies, posed probably the most critical risk to his rule because the begin of the warfare.

The U.N.’s particular envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, referred to as Saturday for pressing talks in Geneva to make sure an “orderly political transition.” Chatting with reporters on the annual Doha Discussion board in Qatar, he mentioned the state of affairs in Syria was altering by the minute. Russian Overseas Minister Sergey Lavrov, whose nation is Assad’s chief worldwide backer, mentioned he feels “sorry for the Syrian individuals.”

In Damascus, individuals rushed to refill on provides. 1000’s went to Syria’s border with Lebanon, making an attempt to go away the nation. Lebanese border officers closed the primary Masnaa border crossing late Saturday, leaving many caught ready.

Many outlets within the capital had been shuttered, a resident instructed The Related Press, and people nonetheless open ran out of staples comparable to sugar. Some had been promoting gadgets at 3 times the traditional worth.

The U.N. mentioned it was transferring noncritical workers exterior the nation as a precaution.

Assad’s standing

Syria’s state media denied social media rumors that Assad left the nation, saying he was performing his duties in Damascus.

He has had little, if any, assist from his allies. Russia is busy with its warfare in Ukraine. Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which at one level despatched hundreds of fighters to shore up Assad’s forces, has been weakened by a yearlong battle with Israel. Iran has seen its proxies throughout the area degraded by common Israeli airstrikes.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday posted on social media that the US ought to keep away from partaking militarily in Syria. Individually, President Joe Biden’s nationwide safety adviser mentioned the Biden administration had no intention of intervening there.

Pedersen mentioned a date for talks in Geneva on the implementation of a U.N. decision, adopted in 2015 and calling for a Syrian-led political course of, could be introduced later. The decision requires the institution of a transitional governing physique, adopted by the drafting of a brand new structure and ending with U.N.-supervised elections.

Later Saturday, international ministers and senior diplomats from eight key international locations, together with Saudi Arabia, Russia, Egypt, Turkey and Iran, together with Pederson, gathered on the sidelines of the Doha Summit to debate the state of affairs in Syria.

In an announcement, the individuals affirmed their assist for a political answer to the Syrian disaster “that will result in the tip of navy exercise and shield civilians.”

The insurgents’ march

A commander with the insurgents, Hassan Abdul-Ghani, posted on the Telegram messaging app that opposition forces had begun the “remaining stage” of their offensive by encircling Damascus.

HTS controls a lot of northwest Syria and in 2017 arrange a “salvation authorities” to run day-to-day affairs within the area. Lately, HTS chief Abu Mohammed al-Golani has sought to remake the group’s picture, chopping ties with al-Qaida, ditching hard-line officers and vowing to embrace pluralism and non secular tolerance.

The shock offensive started Nov. 27, throughout which gunmen captured the northern metropolis of Aleppo, Syria’s largest, and the central metropolis of Hama, the nation’s fourth-largest metropolis.

The Syrian authorities has referred to opposition gunmen as terrorists since battle broke out in March 2011.

Qatar’s high diplomat, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, criticized Assad for failing to benefit from the lull in preventing lately to deal with the nation’s underlying issues. “Assad did not seize this chance to start out partaking and restoring his relationship together with his individuals,” he mentioned.