The rebels’ surprise offensive finally reached the outskirts of Damascus on Saturday. On Sunday, the dictator Bashar al-Assad is reported to have left the country and the Islamist militia Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) declared victory.
At the same time, several leaders and organizations around the world are reacting to the dramatic developments in Syria.
UN envoys: A new chapter
The UN envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, believes that Syria is now at a turning point.
“Today we cautiously look forward to the beginning of a new chapter – one of peace, reconciliation, dignity and inclusion for all Syrians,” Pedersen writes in a statement.
Furthermore, he writes that the challenges ahead are enormous, but that it is a moment with the possibility of renewal.
The Swedish foreign minister, Maria Malmer Stenergard (M), believes that it is too early to draw any conclusions about what this may mean for Syria, but points out that it is important to have an “orderly transition of power in Syria”.
“The Assad regime in Damascus has fallen after almost 14 years of civil war and unimaginable brutality against its own population,” writes Stenergard in a comment to TV4 Nyheterna and urges all Swedes who are in Syria to leave the country.
The “revolutionary flag” is raised at embassies
Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi Al-Jalali has stated that he is ready to hand over power. A film has also been published where he is escorted by rebels to a hotel in Damascus. According to CNN, he was led there to hand over power to the rebels.
At the embassies in Stockholm and Athens, the Syrian flag has been taken down and the oppositional “revolutionary flag” raised instead. Outside the embassy in Sweden, a smaller number of people had also gathered, carrying the “revolutionary flag”.
In Athens, three people had broken into the embassy and raised the “revolutionary flag”, before being arrested by the police.
Assad’s whereabouts are unclear
The exact whereabouts of the dictator Bashar al-Assad is unclear. Two Syrian sources told Reuters that al-Assad may have been on a plane that crashed. The plane made a U-turn and disappeared from Flightradar’s map.
– There is information that he could have crashed his plane or that he is in Russia or Iran, it is too early to say but we will soon know where he is and his position in this situation, says TV4 Nyheterna’s Middle East correspondent Terese Cristiansson.
At the same time, Axios reports that Assad must have been on his way to Moscow in Russia, an ally of Assad.
Today 08:42
Rebels in Damascus: al-Assad’s regime has been overthrown
Trump: Russia didn’t want to protect him anymore
At the same time, the incoming US president Donald Trump claims that Russia has turned its back on Assad.
“Assad is gone. He fled his country. His protectors, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin were not interested in protecting him anymore,” writes Trump, who believes that Russia had no reason to enter Syria in the first place.
Trump also believes that Russia and Iran are now two weakened states, which he believes is due to the war in Ukraine and Iran’s conflict with Israel.
Today 09:03
Terese Cristiansson on developments in Syria: “Many question marks”
Five points: This has happened in Syria
On November 27, the Islamist militia Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) carries out a surprise attack on Syrian dictator Assad’s forces in Aleppo province.
The rebels are moving towards Aleppo, which is controlled by the regime. Three days later, on November 30, the Assad regime admits that the rebels are in the city. Russian warplanes are bombing both Aleppo and parts of northwestern Syria along with Syrian warplanes.
HTS continues to move south, and after intense fighting, they take control of the country’s fourth largest city, Hama, on December 5. They then continue towards the city of Homs where regime forces are said to be withdrawing. At the same time, they are said to be losing control over southern Daraa and eastern Dayr al-Zor.
On Saturday, December 7, the rebels state that they surrounded the capital Damascus and captured Homs.
Early on Sunday, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham enters Damascus. Assad is said to have left the country and the prime minister says he is prepared to hand over power. On state television, the rebels state that the Syrian regime has fallen “after 50 years of oppression”.