Syria rebels declare Damascus ‘free’, Assad’s whereabouts unknown
Syria’s rebel forces claim to have “liberated” Damascus following their surprise lightning offensive that has swept through the nation in just a few days. “Militarily, Damascus has fallen,” a source familiar with the advance told CNN.
The rebels said Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has fled Damascus, but Syria’s presidential office and Iranian officials previously maintained he has not departed the capital.
Scenes of celebration have been reported in multiple locations. Syria’s prime minister said in a recorded message that the government stands ready “to cooperate with any leadership the people choose.” He was seen in a video being escorted by rebels.
One US official told CNN that events in Syria mark the collapse of “Iran’s artifice” across the Middle East. The potential toppling of the Iran-backed Assad would follow the decimation of key Tehran proxies Hezbollah and Hamas in conflicts with Israel over the past 14 months.
The Syrian rebels taking Damascus and toppling the country’s President Bashar al-Assad is a “momentous moment” for the Middle East, Firas Maksad, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told CNN Sunday.
“This is a momentous moment, not just for the Syrian people, but for the people of the Middle East, Lebanese, Palestinians, Syrians, or otherwise,” he said. “What happens in Syria doesn’t stay in Syria.”
“This is a regime that, for over 50 years, under the mantra of freedom, unity and socialism, oppressed, tortured and disappeared many millions in Syria,” Maksad said. The regime also oppressed Lebanese and Palestinian people when the Assad regime occupied Lebanon for several years, he said.
“There’s no doubt that this is a joyous moment for many at a human level,” he said, but it could also be a “moment of potential peril” for minority communities in the country, including religious groups like Alawites, Ismailis, Druze and Christians.
“There are concerns about the more Islamist jihadi elements of this rebel force,” he said, particularly when it comes to Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), the main group driving the country’s armed opposition, which has been designated a terrorist group by the US and many other countries.
