Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) shakes hands with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad during a meeting in Sochi on November 20, 2017.
Russian media reported that ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow on Sunday, hours after a surprise rebel advance took control of the capital, Damascus, and ended 50 years of the Assad family's iron rule.
TASS and the Russian Information Agency quoted an anonymous source in the Kremlin as saying that Assad and his family had obtained asylum in Moscow, his long-time ally and protector. The Associated Press could not immediately verify the reports but contacted the Kremlin for comment.
The agency also said that Moscow had received guarantees from Syrian opposition fighters about the security of Russian military bases and diplomatic sites in Syria.
Assad reportedly left Syria early Sunday, and Syrians poured into the streets chanting gunfire in celebration after the rebels' stunning advance reached the capital, ending 50 years of iron rule by the Assad family.
The rapidly moving events have raised questions about the future of the country and the region as a whole. Russia has requested an emergency session of the UN Security Council to discuss the situation in Syria, First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyansky, posted on Telegram.
Jubilant crowds gathered in Damascus squares, waving the flag of the Syrian revolution in scenes that recalled the early days of the Arab Spring uprising, before a brutal crackdown and rise of rebellion plunged the country into a civil war that lasted nearly 14 years.
Others happily ransacked the presidential palace and his residence after Assad and other senior officials disappeared.
Abu Muhammad al-Julani, the former al-Qaeda leader who severed ties with the group years ago and says he embraces pluralism and religious tolerance, leads the largest rebel faction and is preparing to shape the country's future.
In his first public appearance since fighters entered the Damascus suburbs on Saturday, Al-Julani visited the sprawling Umayyad Mosque and described Assad's fall as a “victory for the Islamic nation.” He called himself Ahmed al-Sharaa, not his nom de guerre, and told hundreds of people that Assad had made Syria “a farm for Iranian greed.”
The rebels face the daunting task of healing bitter divisions in a war-torn country still divided between armed factions. Turkish-backed opposition fighters are fighting US-allied Kurdish forces in the north, and ISIS is still active in some remote areas.
Syrian state television broadcast a rebel statement early Sunday saying that Assad had been overthrown and all prisoners had been released. They called on people to preserve the institutions of the “Free Syrian State.” The rebels later announced a curfew in Damascus from 4 p.m. to 5 a.m
The rebels said they released people detained in the notorious Saydnaya prison, where rights groups say thousands were tortured and killed. A video circulated online allegedly shows rebels breaking down cell doors and releasing dozens of female prisoners, many of whom appeared shocked. At least one small child was seen among them.
Bassam Misr, one of his relatives, said: “This happiness will not be complete until I see my son outside prison and know where he is.” “I have been searching for him for two hours. He has been detained for 13 years.”
Rebel commander Anas Salkhadi later appeared on state television and sought to reassure Syria's religious and ethnic minorities, saying: “Syria is for everyone, without exception. Syria is for the Druze, Sunnis, Alawites, and all sects.”
He added: “We will not deal with people the way the Assad family dealt.”
Celebrations in the capital
The residents of Damascus performed prayers in mosques and celebrated in the squares, chanting “God is great.” People chanted anti-Assad slogans and honked car horns. Teenage boys picked up weapons that appeared to have been discarded by security forces and fired into the air.
Celebrators filled Umayyad Square, where the Ministry of Defense is located. Some waved the three-star Syrian flag that preceded the Assad government and was adopted by the revolutionaries. Elsewhere, many parts of the capital were empty and shops were closed.
The soldiers and police left their positions and fled, and the thieves stormed the Ministry of Defense. Videos showed families walking around the presidential palace, some carrying piles of dishes and other household items.
“It's like a dream. I need someone to wake me up,” said opposition fighter Abu Laith, adding that Damascus had received the rebels “with love.”
At the Ministry of Justice, where the rebels stand guard, Judge Khitam Haddad said they were protecting documents from chaos. Abroad, some residents sought information about relatives who disappeared during Assad's rule.
One woman, who gave only her first name, Heba, said the rebels “felt people’s pain.” She expressed concern about possible revenge killings by the rebels, many of whom appeared to be minors.
The Syrian newspaper Al-Watan, which has historically been supportive of the government, wrote: “We are facing a new page for Syria. We thank God that no more blood will be shed.” She added that media workers should not be blamed for publishing previous government statements, saying that she “only carried out instructions.”
A statement by the Alawite sect, which constitutes the heart of Assad's base, called on Syrian youth to be “calm, rational, and wise, and not to be drawn into what is tearing apart the unity of our country.”
The rebels come mainly from Syria's Sunni Muslim majority, which also includes large Druze, Christian and Kurdish communities. In Qamishli, northeast of the country, a Kurdish man hit a statue of the late President Hafez al-Assad with his shoe.
Syrian Prime Minister Muhammad Ghazi Jalali said that the government is ready to “extend its hand” to the opposition and hand over its duties to a transitional government. A video clip published by Syrian opposition media showed armed men accompanying him from his office to the Four Seasons Hotel on Sunday.
Anwar Gargash said that Assad's destination at this stage is “a footnote in history,” comparing it to the long exile of German Kaiser Wilhelm II after World War I.
Calls for an orderly transition
The rebel advance since November 27 was the largest in recent years, and saw the cities of Aleppo, Hama and Homs fall within days as the Syrian army dissolved. He was abandoned by Russia, Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah group, which provided crucial support to Assad throughout the uprising while suffering from other conflicts.
The end of Assad's rule was a major blow to Iran and its allies, who were already weakened by the conflict with Israel. Iran, which has strongly supported him throughout the civil war, said Syrians should decide their future “without destructive or coercive foreign intervention.” The Iranian embassy in Damascus was looted after apparently being abandoned.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israeli forces had seized the buffer zone in the Golan Heights that was established in 1974, saying that this was aimed at protecting the Israeli population after Syrian forces abandoned their positions. Later, the Israeli army warned residents of five communities in southern Syria to stay in their homes for their safety, and did not respond to questions.
Israel occupied the Golan in the 1967 Middle East War and later annexed it. The international community, with the exception of the United States, considers it an occupied territory, and the Arab League on Sunday condemned what it described as Israel's efforts to exploit Assad's fall to occupy more territory.
The rebels are led by the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham group, which has its origins in Al Qaeda and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the United Nations. Al-Julani sought to recast the group as a moderate and tolerant force.
“Al-Julani made history and sparked hope among millions of Syrians,” said Darine Khalifa, a senior advisor at the International Crisis Group. “But he and the rebels now face a huge challenge.”
The United Nations Special Envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, called on Saturday for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an “orderly political transition.”
The State of Qatar, a major regional mediator, hosted an emergency meeting of foreign ministers and senior officials from eight countries with interests in Syria late on Saturday. Among them are Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Turkey.
Majid Al-Ansari, spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, said they agreed on the need to “involve all parties on the ground,” including Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, and that the main concern is “stability and safe transition.”
