Syria updates: Assad regime seems to have fallen, prime minister ready for handover

In a surprising flip, the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad seems to have fallen after rebels superior into the capital Damascus, catching authorities forces unexpectedly 10 days after a lightning advance by insurgents first started.

Early Sunday morning native time, the insurgent army operations command for the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, claimed the president was not within the capital, writing: “We declare town of Damascus freed from the tyrant Bashar al-Assad.”

There was no impartial verification of the declare.

Nonetheless, movies on social media declare to indicate Syrian forces abandoning their posts and melting away. There have been studies of Syrian army troops surrendering in different cities as properly.

A couple of hours earlier, the insurgent group first introduced it had superior straight into the capital metropolis, reaching Sednaya jail, a authorities facility dubbed the “human slaughterhouse” by the human rights group Amnesty Worldwide.

“Our forces have begun coming into the capital Damascus,” HTS stated in a single message. In a follow-up assertion, the group stated it was “the tip of the period of injustice of Sednaya jail.”

The Syrian prime minister, Ghazi al-Jalali, launched a video saying the federal government was able to “prolong a hand” to the opposition and hand over its capabilities. Insurgent leaders have instructed their fighters to not strategy Syrian authorities websites, an obvious try and quell any fears within the metropolis and await a proper handover within the morning.

President Joe Biden was “intently monitoring the extraordinary occasions in Syria,” White Home Nationwide Safety Council spokesperson Sean Savett stated in an announcement.

Talking at a protection convention earlier within the day, earlier than rebels superior into the capital, U.S. Nationwide Safety Adviser Jake Sullivan stated the velocity and scale of their speedy advance got here, partially, as a result of Assad’s chief backers — Iran, Russia and Hezbollah — had all been “weakened and distracted,” in current months.

That has left Assad “mainly bare,” Sullivan stated on the Reagan Nationwide Protection Discussion board in California. “His forces are hollowed out.”

Lighting advance by insurgent teams

Total, the rebel group claimed credit score for taking on 4 Syrian cities in 24 hours — Homs, Daraa, Queinetra and Sweida — in a collection of speedy advances by opposition fighters that was largely been met with little resistance from authorities forces.

All through the day Saturday, because the insurgent forces had been on the transfer, the Syrian military withdrew from a lot of southern Syria, leaving extra areas of the nation, together with two provincial capitals, beneath the management of the rebels, based on the army and an opposition conflict monitor.

In an announcement launched earlier Saturday, the Syrian authorities at first denied Assad had fled the nation, issuing an announcement calling media studies on the contrary “rumors and false information.”

U.S. intelligence had been getting ready for Assad’s entrance line to break down beneath the press of insurgent forces, and the U.S. had intelligence that Assad’s household had left the nation for Moscow.

Earlier this week, authorities forces withdrew from Hama, Syria’s fourth largest metropolis, which sits between the capital Damascus to the south and Aleppo — Syria’s second metropolis — to the north.

Aleppo fell to the lightning insurgent offensive on Nov. 29. Hama was one of many few main cities that didn’t fall to anti-government forces following the unsuccessful 2011 revolution towards Assad’s rule.

Who’re the Syrian rebels?

The insurgent offensive is being waged by HTS and a group of Turkish-backed Syrian militias often called the Syrian Nationwide Military.

HTS, which has its roots in al-Qaida, is taken into account a terrorist group by the U.S.

Nonetheless, lately, the group stated it has severed ties with al-Qaida and sought to remake itself by specializing in selling civilian authorities and army motion, based on The Related Press.

If Assad flees the nation and HTS positive aspects management of Syrian authorities establishments, it is unknown how they are going to search to control.

“Will they revert again extra to that when it was affiliated with al-Qaida?” stated Javed Ali, affiliate professor on the College of Michigan’s Ford Faculty of Public Coverage, throughout an look on ABC Information Stay. “Or will it look extra just like the Taliban in Afghanistan — which is Islamist, conservative, however not, for essentially the most half, intent on threatening its neighbors or having its nation be used as a launchpad for assaults towards the West.”

What officers are saying concerning the state of affairs in Syria

Ali referred to as the developments a “catastrophic loss” for Iran, which has lengthy supported the Assad regime and a “black mark” for the Russian authorities, which has additionally propped up Assad.

Citing media studies, each nations seem to have pulled advisers and tools in another country, Ali stated.

“If these withdrawals proceed, each on the Iranian and the Russian facet, it is solely mainly the Syrian army and safety forces left,” he stated. “And very similar to we noticed in Afghanistan in 2021, they’re most likely not going to have the ability to maintain again towards HTS and all the opposite insurgent teams which might be on the outskirts of Damascus proper now.”

President-elect Donald Trump weighed in on the developments within the Syrian civil conflict on his social media platform Reality Social on Saturday and stated the U.S. ought to keep out of the matter completely.

“Syria is a large number, however just isn’t our buddy, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!” Trump posted.

Within the submit, Trump famous that Russia, which has lengthy supported Assad’s regime, is “tied up in Ukraine” and apparently unable to intervene in Syria. Trump stated Assad being pressured out “may very well be one of the best factor that may occur” to the Russian authorities.

In the meantime earlier Saturday, Russian Overseas Minister Sergey Lavrov commented on the insurgent offensive in Syria, saying Russia would oppose it “in each means attainable” however Russia “will actively promote the necessity to resume dialogue with the opposition,” that means between the federal government and the rebels.