Crowds gathered in Syria’s Damascus on Sunday to celebrate the fall of Bashar Assad’s government with chants, prayers and the occasional gunfire after opposition fighters entered the capital following a stunning advance.
Rami Abdurrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Syrian opposition war monitor, said Assad took a flight from Damascus and left early Sunday. There was no immediate official statement from the Syrian government and Assad’s whereabouts remain unknown.
It was the first time opposition forces had reached Damascus since 2018 when Syrian troops recaptured areas on the outskirts of the capital following a yearslong siege.
The night before, opposition forces had taken the central city of Homs, Syria’s third largest, as government forces abandoned it. The rapidly developing events have shaken the region. Lebanon said it was closing all its land border crossings with Syria except for one that links Beirut with Damascus. Jordan closed a border crossing with Syria, too.
Yemen’s leader welcomes the fall of Syria’s government: The head of Yemen’s internationally recognised government welcomed the fall of the government of President Bashar Assad of Syria.
“It’s a historic moment,” Rashad al-Alimi, who chairs the ruling presidential council, wrote on X platform of Assad’s downfall. “It’s time for the Iranian regime to stop meddling in Yemen, respect its sovereignty and identity.”
Al-Alimi, who is backed by Saudi Arabia, was referring to Iran’s support of Houthi rebels who are at war with Yemen’s internationally recognised government for a decade.
Families wander through the presidential palace in Damascus, taking pictures: Families wandered through the high-ceilinged halls of the presidential palace in Damascus on Sunday, along with some armed men. Some paused to take family portraits or selfies on the few remaining couches against the backdrop of mosaiced walls, while others walked out with chairs and other items under their arms. On the massive parking lot out front, cars drove in circles honking ecstatically.
In central Damascus’ Umayyad Square, drivers passing by also honked jubilantly, while young men piled onto a tank abandoned in the square.
Syrians cross over from Lebanon, facing an uncertain future but hopeful for change: At Lebanon’s Masnaa crossing into Syria, the mood was festive Sunday with some local Lebanese residents handing out congratulatory sweets to Syrians lined up to return to their country.
Sami Abdel-Latif, a refugee from Hama who was heading to Syria to join his wife and four children, said while the future in Syria is still uncertain, “anything is better than Bashar.” He said he expected some chaos initially but that eventually the situation would settle down.
Egyptians express mixed feelings over collapse of Assad’s government: Egyptians expressed mixed feelings following the downfall of Syria’s Bashar Assad.
Many welcomed Assad’s ouster after decades of repression under his rule and that of his father Hafez Assad. Others, however, expressed concerns about the future of Syria, mostly given the extremist past of rebel commanders, especially Abu Mohammed al-Golani who leads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, labelled a terrorist by the United States.
EU top diplomat welcomes Bashar Assad’s ouster: The European Union’s top diplomat welcomed the fall of Bashar Assad and said that the collapse of his rule underlines how weak his supporters in Moscow and Tehran have become.
“The end of Assad’s dictatorship is a positive and long-awaited development,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas posted on X.
German Chancellor calls for speedy return of order in Syria: Reacting to the fall of Bashir Assad’s government, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Sunday that “what matters now is that law and order are quickly restored in Syria.” “The Syrian people have experienced appalling suffering,” the chancellor said in an emailed statement. “The end of Assad’s rule over Syria is therefore good news.”
Airstrikes reported in the area of the Mezzeh military airport: An Associated Press journalist in Damascus reported airstrikes in the area of the Mezzeh military airport, southwest of the capital Sunday.
The airport has previously been targeted in Israeli airstrikes, but it was not immediately clear who launched Sunday’s strike.
Opposition forces announce curfew in Damascus: The command of the Syrian armed opposition says it will impose Sunday a curfew in Damascus, starting at 4 pm local time till 5 am on Monday.
The Military Operations Administration, which posted the decision on Telegram, did not give a reason for the curfew.
France welcomes the fall of Bashar Assad: The French Foreign Affairs ministry said France “welcomes” the fall of Bashar Assad’s government “after more than 13 years of violent repression against its own people.”
The ministry said in a statement: “The Syrian people have suffered too much. Bashar Assad has bled dry country, emptied of a large part of its people who, if not forced into exile, have been massacred, tortured and bombarded with chemical weapons by the regime and its allies.”
UN envoy for Syria expresses hope but warns of immense challenges: The UN envoy for Syria says the ouster of President Bashar Assad has created an opportunity to address the country’s deep problems and create a brighter future after years of conflict. But he says “immense” challenges remain.
Geir Pederson told reporters that the changes in Syria now raise hope for millions of refugees, internally displaced, political prisoners and families whose loved ones have disappeared.
Turkish foreign minister calls on world to help stabilise Syria: Hakan Fidan said Sunday that “Syria has reached a stage where the Syrian people will shape the future of their own country,” calling on the international community to support Syrians. Fidan is attending the Qatari diplomatic forum that started late Saturday and is hosting eight countries with an interest in Syria, including the US and Iran.
Assad’s whereabouts are unknown: Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali said in a video statement that the government was ready to “extend its hand” to the opposition and turn its functions over to a transitional government. A video shared on Syrian opposition media showed a group of armed men escorting him out of his office and to the Four Seasons hotel on Sunday. Rami Abdurrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told The Associated Press that Assad took a flight Sunday from Damascus.
A senior diplomat from the United Arab Emirates, which had sought to rehabilitate Assad’s image and has welcomed high-profile exiles in recent years, declined to comment on his whereabouts when asked by reporters at a conference in Bahrain.
Anwar Gargash said Assad’s destination at this point is a “footnote in history,” comparing it to the long exile of German Kaiser Wilhelm II after World War I.
Assad has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war, including a 2013 chemical weapons attack on the outskirts of the capital.
There was no immediate comment from Iran, which had been Assad’s staunchest supporter. The Iranian Embassy in Damascus was ransacked after apparently having been abandoned.