After 61 years of Baath Party rule and 54 years with Assad family in power… Syrian opposition take control of Damascus and announce toppling the regime

The armed Syrian opposition announced the escape of President Bashar al Assad, and the “beginning of a new era” for Syria, after their forces entered Damascus.

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad al Jalali announced his readiness to hand over institutions to any leadership chosen by the Syrian people.

The Syrian capital, Damascus was completely without power, amid heavy gunfire, mostly in the air, in celebration, while videos spread on social media showing people celebrating and cheering in the streets of Damascus.

The opposition factions announced via their Military Operations Administration account on Telegram, “The tyrant Bashar al Assad has fled, and we declare the city of Damascus free”.

The statement added, “After more than 50 years of oppression under Baath rule, and 13 years of crime, tyranny and displacement… we announce today… the end of this dark era and the beginning of a new era for Syria”.

The statement called on displaced Syrians abroad to return to the “Free Syria”.

“Assad left Syria via Damascus International Airport, before the army and security forces withdrew” from the airport, Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the London based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights

On this context, in a recorded video posted on his Facebook account, Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad al Jalali said, “We are ready to cooperate with any leadership chosen by the people… so that we can provide them with all possible facilities”.

The leader of Hay’at Tahrir al Sham, Ahmed al Sharaa (Abu Muhammad al Julani), called on his forces not to approach public institutions, noting that they will remain under the supervision of the former prime minister until they are officially handed over.

These announcements came with astonishing speed after the opposition factions, which began a broad attack on November 27, during which they took control of large areas of the country in the north and center, announced their entry into Damascus.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated that the Syrian army and government forces evacuated Damascus International Airport at dawn on Sunday after orders were issued to army personnel and officers to withdraw from Damascus International Airport.

The entry into the Syrian capital came hours after opposition factions confirmed their control over Homs, the country’s third largest city.

Opposition factions and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Sunday morning that the doors of Sednaya Military Prison, located near Damascus, which is one of the largest in Syria, were opened, and non-governmental platforms report that prisoners are being tortured there.

The Observatory said, “The doors of Sednaya prison were opened… for thousands of detainees who were arrested by the security services throughout the regime’s rule, as the detainees were released after suffering severe torture”.

Opposition factions wrote on Telegram, “We announce to the Syrian people the liberation of our prisoners and the removal of their chains, and the announcement of the end of the era of injustice in Sednaya prison”.

Hours before entering Damascus, the leader of Hay’at Tahrir al Sham, Abu Muhammad al Julani, described his forces’ control over the entire city of Homs, Syria’s third largest city, as “a historic event that will separate right from wrong”.

In a post on Telegram, Lieutenant Colonel, Hassan Abdul Ghani, a leader in the opposition factions, said that the factions were able to liberate more than 3,500 prisoners from the Homs military prison.

In Hama, which was entered by opposition factions on Saturday, it was reported that residents set fire to a giant picture of President Bashar al Assad at the front of a hotel in the city.

Syrian government forces have made a dramatic and unexpected retreat on the ground in recent days.

The government lost control of Daraa province on Saturday after rebel fighters seized a key towns.

Earlier on Saturday, Syrian opposition armed factions took control of the city of Quneitra, the capital of the province of the same name, about 12 kilometers south of Hadar.

On the other hand, the Iraqi authorities allowed hundreds of Syrian soldiers fleeing the front to enter Iraq through the al Qaim border crossing.

The scale of this attack is unprecedented since the outbreak of anti-Assad protests in 2011, before they turned into a bloody conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands, displaced millions and caused widespread destruction.

On Saturday, on the sidelines of the Doha Forum for Political Dialogue, UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen called for calm, avoiding bloodshed and protecting civilians in line with international humanitarian law, urging the start of a process that leads to the realization of the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people.

According to the Syrian Observatory reported that 826 people were killed, including 111 civilians, since the start of the factions’ attack.

It pointed out that a total of 222 fighters were killed since Tuesday around Hama.

Around370,000  people have also been displaced, according to the United Nations, which has warned that this number could rise to 1.5 million.