Beirut: Syrians poured into streets in celebration Sunday after a stunning rebel advance reached the capital, ending the Assad family’s 50 years of iron rule.
Russian state news agencies were reporting that President Bashar Assad and his family had arrived in Moscow and were given asylum. Russia said Assad left the country after negotiations with rebel groups and that he had given instructions to transfer power peacefully.
Joyful crowds gathered in central squares in Damascus, waving the Syrian revolutionary flag. Others ransacked the presidential palace and residence.
Abu Mohammed al-Golani, a former al-Qaida commander who cut ties with the group years ago leads the biggest rebel faction in Syria and is poised to chart the country’s future.
He made his first public appearance since fighters entered the Damascus suburbs Saturday, at the capital’s sprawling Umayyad Mosque, and called himself by his given name, Ahmad al-Sharaa. He said Assad’s fall was “a victory to the Islamic nation”.
The rapidly developing events have shaken the region. Lebanon said it was closing all its land border crossings with Syria except for one that links Beirut with Damascus.
Jordan also closed a border crossing with Syria. Israel has issued warnings to villages in southern Syria and its forces seized a buffer zone in the Golan Heights.
Some latest developments in West Asia:
Arab League condemns Israel for seizing territory in Golan Heights
The Arab League Sunday condemned Israel for taking advantage of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s downfall by moving into more Syrian territory.
Hours after Assad’s overthrow, Israel announced it had seized a buffer zone in the Golan Heights that was established by a cease-fire agreement with Syria in 1974.
In a statement, the Arab League said Israel illegally sought to occupy more territories.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the 50-year-old agreement regarding Syrian territory had collapsed and that Syrian troops had abandoned their positions, necessitating Israel to take over as a “temporary defensive position”.
United Nations secretary-general marks fall of ‘dictatorial regime’ in Syria
The United Nations secretary-general is marking the “fall of the dictatorial regime” in Syria and says the future of the country is “a matter for the Syrians to determine”.
A statement by Antonio Guterres also called for calm and the protection of the rights of all Syrians as well as of diplomatic and consular facilities in Syria. He said there is much work ahead to ensure an “orderly political transition to renewed institutions”, and he called on the international community to ensure that “any political transition is inclusive and comprehensive and that it meets the legitimate aspirations of the people of Syria, in all their diversity”.
Israeli military issues warning to residents of five villages in southern Syria
The Israeli military has issued a warning to residents of five villages and towns in southern Syria to stay inside their homes for their safety. “The fighting in your area is forcing the IDF to act,” the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman said on X.
The military didn’t respond to questions. Earlier, Israel said its troops had seized a buffer zone in the Golan Heights established in 1974, saying it was to protect Israeli residents after Syrian troops abandoned their positions.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said on X that the IDF has been instructed to “seize the buffer zone and control points to ensure the protection of all Israeli communities in the Golan Heights – Jewish and Druze – so that they are not exposed to threats from the other side”.
Israel captured the Golan in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed it. The international community, except for the United States, views it as occupied.
Head of Syria’s biggest rebel faction in first appearance since Assad’s fall calls it ‘victory to the Islamic nation’
The leader of the largest insurgent group in Syria visited the Syrian capital’s sprawling Umayyad Mosque and declared that the victory against President Bashar Assad “is a victory to the Islamic nation”.
Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, made his first public appearance and remarks since fighters entered Damascus. He told hundreds of people at the historic mosque that Assad had made Syria “a farm for Iran’s greed”.
He added that Assad made Syria a base for the illegal amphetamine Captagon that brought cash to Assad’s circles.
Al-Sharaa, the leader of the jihadi Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, said on Sunday that the victory was achieved because of “God and the blood of martyrs”.
He said that he left Syria 20 years ago and since then his heart has longed for this movement.
AP