AMMAN/BEIRUT/CAIRO (Reuters) –Syrian rebels declared President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster after seizing control of Damascus on Sunday, bringing an end to his family’s iron-fisted reign after more than 13 years of civil conflict in a watershed event for the Middle East.
The Islamist rebels also handed a significant damage to Russia and Iran’s regional prominence, as crucial allies who supported Assad throughout vital points in the civil war.
Syria’s army command informed officers on Sunday that Assad’s administration has come to an end, according to a Syrian commander who was briefed of the development.
However, the Syrian army later stated that it was continuing operations against “terrorist groups” in the strategic cities of Hama and Homs, as well as the Deraa countryside.
Assad, who has suppressed all kinds of protest, flew out of Damascus for an unknown destination earlier on Sunday, according to two senior army commanders, while rebels claimed to have entered the capital with no government deployments.
“We celebrate with the Syrian people the news of freeing our prisoners, releasing their chains, and announcing the end of the era of injustice in Sednaya prison,” the rebels stated, referring to a huge jail on Damascus’ outskirts where the Syrian regime kept thousands.
The Syrian rebel coalition announced on Sunday that it is still working to complete the handover of power in Syria to a transitional governing body with full executive authority.
“The great Syrian revolution has moved from the stage of struggle to overthrow the Assad regime to the struggle to build a Syria together that befits the sacrifices of its people,” according to the statement.
Witnesses reported that thousands of people in cars and on foot gathered in Damascus’ main square, waving and chanting “Freedom” after a half-century of Assad family control.
The stunning fall also signals a watershed moment in the Middle East, hurting Russia and Iran, which have lost a crucial partner at the heart of the region and adding to uncertainty while the Gaza war rages on.
ORDERLY TRANSITION?
The rapid pace of events has surprised Arab cities and sparked fears of a fresh wave of regional unrest.
It represents a watershed moment for Syria, which has been ravaged by years of war that has reduced towns to ruins, killed hundreds of thousands of people, and prompted millions to go abroad as refugees.
It will be critical to stabilize western Syria, which was gained during the rebel advance. Western nations, which have long avoided the Assad-led state, must now decide how to deal with a new administration in which a globally classified terrorist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), appears to have power.
HTS, which led the rebel victories across western Syria, was once an al Qaeda affiliate known as the Nusra Front before its leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, severed connections with the global jihadist network in 2016.
“The real question is how orderly this transition will be, and it appears quite clear that Golani wants it to be orderly,” said Joshua Landis, a Syria scholar and Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma.
Golani will not want a replay of the anarchy that engulfed Iraq after US-led forces deposed Saddam Hussein in 2003. “They are going to have to rebuild … they will need Europe and the U.S. to lift sanctions,” Landis informed the crowd.
HTS is Syria’s most powerful rebel group, and several Syrians fear it could impose harsh Islamist rule or incite reprisals.
Countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, both strong US allies, view Islamist extremist groups as an existential threat, therefore HTS may face opposition from regional powers.
Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic advisor to the president of the United Arab Emirates, stated at a conference in Manama that “extremism and terrorism” are major concerns for the country.
ASSAD WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN
According to Flightradar data, a Syrian Air plane took off from Damascus airport about the time the capital was supposed to have been taken over by opposition forces.
The plane originally proceeded towards Syria’s coastal region, a stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect, but then did a quick U-turn and flew in the opposite direction for a few minutes before disappearing from view.
Reuters couldn’t quickly determine who was on board.
According to data from the Flightradar website, two Syrian insiders indicated there was a significant possibility that Assad was killed in a plane accident because it was unclear why the plane made an unexpected U turn and vanished from the map.
As Syrians rejoiced, Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali stated that the government should hold free elections so that Syrians can select who they want.
However, in a country with complex competing interests ranging from Islamists to parties linked to the United States, Russia, and Turkey, a peaceful transition would be required.
Jalali also stated that he had spoken with rebel commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani about handling the transition period, which was a significant move in efforts to mold Syria’s political destiny.
Syria’s civil war, which began in 2011 as an uprising against Assad’s authority, drew in major foreign powers, provided room for jihadist extremists to organize strikes around the world, and brought millions of refugees into neighboring countries.
The frontlines of Syria’s intricate civil conflict have been inactive for years. Then Islamists who had previously been connected with Al Qaeda erupted, posing the most serious threat to Assad, who survived thanks to Russia, Iran, and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
However, Assad’s friends were preoccupied with and weakened by other crises, leaving him vulnerable to his opponents and with an army unprepared to defend him.
Israel, which has significantly damaged Iran-backed groups Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, will most likely celebrate the demise of Assad, another of Iran’s important regional allies. However, the thought of an Islamist organization running Syria will likely cause anxiety.
Following the army’s withdrawal from Homs, thousands of civilians flooded onto the streets, dancing and screaming “Assad is gone, Homs is free” and “Long live Syria and down with Bashar al-Assad”.
Rebels fired into the air in joy, while adolescents tore down pictures of Syria’s president, whose territorial authority has crumbled following the military’s dizzying week-long withdrawal.
The fall of Homs gave the insurgents control of Syria’s strategic heartland and a vital highway intersection, cutting off Damascus from the coastline region, which is Assad’s Alawite sect’s stronghold and home to his Russian allies’ naval and air bases.
Rebels liberated thousands of captives from the municipal prison. Security forces fled in haste after burning their documents.