Syrian Opposition Declares Start Of "New Era"; Al Assad Fled: Report (image @WakeelMubariz)

Syria is in blaze. The opposition has taken over the largest strategic cities of the country. They also infiltrated the capital city Damascus. Some part of the cities celebrate, while some perceive the situation with fear. People, who have witnessed that the government is losing control, has started to take over cities.

The armed opposition declared the latest movement as an end to al-Assad government, and Syria marks a new era. In a statement released, it said, “After 50 years of oppression under Baathist rule and 13 years of criminality, tyranny and displacement, and after a long struggle, confronting all sorts of occupation forces, we declare today, December 8, 2024, the end of that dark era and the start of a new era for Syria”.

Reports also emerged that President Bashar al-Assad has fled Damascus,. Reuters news agency reported that al-Assad has boarded a plane and left to unknown destination. There reports of him fleeing the country has emerged earlier, which the government denied. The exact whereabouts of the President were not known, and he has not been seen for days.

Reportedly, moments before the opposition faction took over the Damascus airport, open source flight trackers recorded a single plane in Syria’s airspace. An Illyushin76 aircraft with flight number Syrian air 9218 was the last flight to take off from the city. At first the plane flew towards east, then north, and signals disappeared minutes later as it circled over Homs.

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Reports also suggested that about 2,000 Syrian troops sought refuge in Iraqi borders. The government force also withdrew from country’s Defence Ministry, reported Al Jazeera, citing opposition sources.

The rebels have also taken over public radio and television building in the Syrian capital. Despite being located in the heart of Damascus, the building was used to announce new governments during Syria’s era of successive coups in the 1950s and ’60s.

While its too early to say that the Syrian government has fallen, rebels hailed their entry to the capital city as a “moment of freedom after decades of pain and suffering”. “To Syrians abroad all over the world, Syria awaits you,” the armed group said in a statement.

People have started to celebrate in Damascus, Homs, Hama, and Aleppo. Citing witnesses, the Reuters news agency reported that thousands of people in cars and on foot are congregating in central Damascus, chanting, “Freedom!”. Video footage shared online showed several people in the Ummayad Square, standing on an abandoned military tank and singing in celebration.

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Within a week, the opposition factions in Syria have seized major cities including Aleppo, and other large swaths of territories. Apart from air strikes, which also involved Russia – the country’s main international backer – the attackers faced little to no resistance from Syrian military. With the removal of Russian power from the country, and Hezbollah – the proxy of Iran who is not in good shape to back Syria since it was weakened due to an year-long war with Israel – is also out of the equation, al-Assad’s government lacked in many ways to put up fight.