After rebels capture Damascus, Syrians enter Assad’s palaces, take valuables

Earlier on Sunday, Islamist rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) marched into Damascus, and eventually announced that they had “freed Damascus” and overthrown Assad’s regime while freeing all jailed prisoners.

In a post on X, the coalition said it aspires to build strategic partnerships within the region and the world, news agency Reuters reported. Hadi Al-Bahra, leader of Syria’s main opposition abroad, said that Syria should have an 18-month transition period to create “a safe, neutral, and quiet environment” for holding free elections.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad left office and departed the country following negotiations with other participants in the “armed conflict” and gave orders for a peaceful handover of power.

The Syrian civil war has been going on since 2011, and went into a stalemate in 2020 till the fall of the city of Aleppo on November 29. The government of Syria and its ally Russia’s united forces failed to regain control of rebel-occupied territory, despite the use of jets and bombings in the region. The rebel attack was also the first time since 2016 that opposition forces seized territory in the city of Aleppo.

Further, HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani had recently told The New York Times in an interview, “Our goal is to liberate Syria from this oppressive regime.”

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