Syria’s army command notified officers Sunday that President Bashar al-Assad’s rule has ended, as rebels entered Damascus and thousands celebrated in the streets, marking a stunning conclusion to the Assad family’s half-century control of the country.
Assad reportedly fled the capital by plane, according to two senior army officers who spoke to Reuters. Flight tracking data showed a Syrian Air aircraft departing Damascus airport toward the coastal region, a traditional stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect, before making an abrupt turn and disappearing from radar.
“We celebrate with the Syrian people the news of freeing our prisoners and releasing their chains and announcing the end of the era of injustice in Sednaya prison,” rebel forces declared, referring to the notorious military detention facility outside Damascus.
Thousands gathered at Damascus’s Umayyad Square, home to the Ministry of Defense and Syrian Armed Forces headquarters, with witnesses reporting crowds chanting “Freedom” as music played and people danced around an abandoned military tank. Defense ministry officials had withdrawn from their headquarters, according to local reports.
“It’s really looking like we’re in the final hours, if not minutes, of 54 years of tyranny in Syria,” said Natasha Hall, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Middle East Program, noting that Assad’s traditional allies Iran and Russia had been “weakened and distracted” by other global events.
The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebel group promised a “new Syria” where “everyone lives in peace and justice prevails,” inviting displaced people and former prisoners to return home.
