Syrian army command tells officers that Assads rule has ended
Syrian army command tells officers that Assad's rule has ended
The Syrian army command has notified officers that President Bashar al-Assad's rule has ended as militants enter the capital Damascus, an officer says.
The unnamed officer made the remarks to Reuters on Sunday after reports said President Assad had flown out of Damascus for an unknown destination.
Meanwhile, the militants declared that they had captured the capital, announcing the fall of the Assad government.
Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali expressed the government’s readiness to “extend its hand” to the militants and hand over its functions to a transitional government.
“I am in my house and I have not left, and this is because of my belonging to this country,” he said in a video statement, Press TV reported.
He also noted that he would go to his office to continue work in the morning, calling on Syrian citizens not to deface public property.
The Hayat Tahrir al-Shams (HTS), mostly backed by Turkey, waged a surprise two-pronged attack on Syria’s Aleppo and the countryside around Idlib on November 27.
Soon afterward, they captured several Syrian cities, including Hama, Homs, Dara’a, Suwayda, and Damascus.
HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani called on militants to leave state institutions unharmed.
“To all military forces in the city of Damascus, it is strictly forbidden to approach public institutions, which will remain under the supervision of the former Prime Minister until they are officially handed over, and it is also forbidden to fire bullets into the air,” he said in a statement released on Telegram.
In a separate statement, the HTS militant group, which called itself the Syrian National Transitional Council, announced the toppling of the Assad government.
It further vowed to “preserve the unity and sovereignty of Syrian territory, … protect all citizens and their property, regardless of their affiliations,” and “achieve comprehensive national reconciliation.”
Opposition fighters declare Damascus liberated on state TV
The opposition has broadcast their first statement to Syrians on state TV.
“The city of Damascus has been liberated,” said one man, dressed in civilian clothes.
“The tyrant Bashar al-Assad has been toppled. All the prisoners have been released from the prison of Damascus. We wish all our fighters and citizens to preserve and maintain the property of the state of Syria. Long live Syria.”
Qatar vows to support Syria political process under UN resolution
Speaking at the Doha Forum, Qatar’s Minister of State Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi said his country will be “fully supporting the political process under UNSC resolution 2254”.
UN Security Council Resolution 2254 calls for an end to hostilities and a political solution to the Syrian conflict.
“We are fully moving towards systematical, but also procedural steps that will provide stability to preserve unity and the territorial integrity of the Syrian people,” al-Khulaifi told the panel called Taking the Stand: Strengthening International Humanitarian Law and Accountability.
“The conflict is between the Syrian regime and the Syrians themselves, not between Syria and other countries. Therefore, we’re fully supporting any pathway that provide resolutions for those issues.”
Trump says Assad ‘fled’ Syria after losing Russia’s support
US president-elect Donald Trump says al-Assad had “fled his country” after losing the backing of Russia.
“Assad is gone,” he said on his Truth Social platform. “His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer.”
Israel urges new line of defense in occupied Golan Heights
Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli says the opposition advances in Syria “are far from a cause for celebration” for his country.
“Most of Syria is now under the control of affiliate organizations of” al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS), he was quoted as saying by the Israel Hayom newspaper, apparently referring to the fighters led by the HTS forces that have entered Damascus.
Meanwhile, he said the strengthening of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the expansion of their control in the northeast of the country was a positive development.
“Israel must operationally renew its control at Mount Hermon [in the occupied Golan Heights] and establish a new line of defense based on the ceasefire line of 1974 [with Syria],” the minister added.
The SDF is backed by the US and its allies.
The majority of Syria’s Golan Heights region was occupied by Israel in 1967 and annexed by it in 1981.
Meanwhile, Al Manar reported the Israeli military had announced the beginning of its land invasion of southern Syria on Sunday morning.
The regime's media reported that the army tanks crossed the border fence in the Golan Heights early in the morning.
Israeli media also reported the large-scale arrival of the occupying forces in the Quneitra area located in the south of Syria.
Concerns about peaceful transition after Syrian army melts away
Joshua Landis, a Syria expert and director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, cites reasons why the Assad government collapsed.
Landis says there was no money to pay troops and people were exhausted, contributing to the Syrian army just “melting away” against incoming militants.
“There had not been a peace dividend and nobody could rebuild their lives. Life looked so grim under this regime, going out into the future,” he told Al Jazeera.
He reminded the al-Assad government was under various sanctions and the US controlled most of Syria’s oil and gas.
Landis said Assad was weakened, whereas the rebel group rebuilt itself and managed to adjust and change itself.
“Now the question is how peaceful will the transition be, because everybody is fearful that there will be something like Baghdad after the US destroyed the Iraqi government where we saw a lot of pillaging and burning,” he added.
source: tehrantimes.com