A Syrian opposition conflict monitor and two senior military officers stated early Sunday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has left the nation as rebels say they’d entered Damascus following a shocking advance throughout the nation, with residents of the capital reporting the sounds of gunfire and explosions.

Rami Abdurrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights informed The Related Press that Assad took a flight from Damascus early Sunday. Reuters reported the identical factor, citing two senior military officers.

State tv in Iran, Assad’s predominant backer within the years of conflict in Syria, reported that he had left the capital. It cited Qatar’s Al Jazeera information community for the knowledge and didn’t elaborate.

There was no fast official assertion from the Syrian authorities.

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali stated the federal government was able to “lengthen its hand” to the opposition and hand over its features to a transitional authorities.

“I’m in my home and I’ve not left, and that is due to my belonging to this nation,” Jalali stated in a video assertion. He stated he would go to his workplace to proceed work within the morning and referred to as on Syrian residents to not deface public property.

He didn’t tackle studies that Assad had left the nation.

An Related Press journalist in Damascus reported seeing teams of armed residents alongside the street on the outskirts of the capital and listening to sounds of gunshots. The town’s predominant police headquarters gave the impression to be deserted, its door left ajar with no officers exterior.

One other AP journalist shot footage of an deserted military checkpoint the place uniforms have been discarded on the bottom beneath a poster of Assad’s face.

Residents of the capital reported sounds of gunfire and explosions. Footage broadcast on opposition-linked media confirmed a tank in one of many capital’s central squares, whereas a small group of individuals gathered in celebration. Calls of “God is nice” rang out from mosques.

It was the primary time that opposition forces reached the outskirts of Damascus since 2018, when Syrian troops recaptured the world following a years-long siege.

The professional-government Sham FM radio reported that the Damascus airport was evacuated and all flights halted.

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The insurgents additionally introduced they’d entered the infamous Saydnaya army jail north of the capital and “liberated our prisoners” there.

The night time earlier than, opposition forces had taken the central metropolis of Homs, Syria’s third largest, as authorities forces deserted it. The town stands at an essential intersection between Damascus, the capital, and Syria’s coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus — the Syrian chief’s base of assist and residential to a Russian strategic naval base.

Sham FM reported that authorities forces took positions exterior Syria’s third-largest metropolis, with out elaborating.  Abdurrahman, of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, stated Syrian troops and members of various safety businesses have withdrawn from town, including that rebels have entered components of it.

The insurgency introduced later Saturday that it had taken over Homs. The seize of Homs is a significant victory for insurgents, who had already seized the cities of Aleppo and Hama, in addition to massive components of the south, in a lightning offensive that started Nov. 27. Analysts stated Homs falling into insurgent arms can be a game-changer.

The rebels’ strikes into Damascus got here after the Syrian military withdrew from a lot of southern a part of the nation, leaving extra areas, together with a number of provincial capitals, beneath the management of opposition fighters.

Warning about radicals taking management

German International Minister Annalena Baerbock expressed understanding for the reduction Syrian individuals felt after the autumn of Assad’s authorities, however warned that “the nation should not now fall into the arms of different radicals.”

“A number of hundred thousand Syrians have been killed within the civil conflict, tens of millions have fled,” Baerbock stated in a press release emailed by her workplace Sunday. “Assad has murdered, tortured and used poison fuel in opposition to his personal individuals. He should lastly be held accountable for this.”

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Baerbock additionally referred to as “on the events to the battle to dwell as much as their duty for all Syrians.” “This consists of the great safety of ethnic and non secular minorities similar to Kurds, Alawites or Christians and an inclusive political course of that creates a steadiness between the teams,” the German international minister stated.

Ought to Damascus fall to the opposition forces, the federal government would have management of solely two of 14 provincial capitals: Latakia and Tartus.

The advances up to now week have been among the many largest lately by opposition factions, led by a bunch that has its origins in al-Qaeda and is taken into account a terrorist group by the USA and the United Nations. As they’ve superior, the insurgents — led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS — have met little resistance from the Syrian military. 

The fast insurgent good points, coupled with the shortage of assist from Assad’s erstwhile allies, posed essentially the most severe risk to his rule for the reason that begin of the conflict.

The UN’s particular envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, on Saturday referred to as for pressing talks in Geneva to make sure an “orderly political transition.” Talking to reporters on the annual Doha Discussion board in Qatar, he stated the state of affairs in Syria was altering by the minute.

Russian International Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov, whose nation is Assad’s chief worldwide backer, stated he feels “sorry for the Syrian individuals.”

In Damascus, individuals rushed to fill up on provides. 1000’s rushed the Syria border with Lebanon, attempting to depart the nation.

Many retailers within the capital have been shuttered, a resident informed The Related Press, and those who remained open ran out of staples similar to sugar. Some retailers have been promoting gadgets at 3 times the traditional value.

The UN stated it was transferring non-critical employees exterior the nation as a precaution.

Assad remoted

Assad has had little, if any, assist from his allies. Russia is busy with its conflict in Ukraine. Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which at one level despatched hundreds of fighters to shore up Assad’s forces, has been weakened by a year-long battle with Israel. Iran has seen its proxies throughout the area degraded by common Israeli airstrikes.

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on Saturday posted on social media that the U.S. ought to keep away from participating militarily in Syria.

Pedersen stated a date for the talks in Geneva on the implementation of UN Decision 2254 can be introduced later. The decision, adopted in 2015, referred to as for a Syrian-led political course of, beginning with the institution of a transitional governing physique, adopted by the drafting of a brand new structure and ending with UN-supervised elections.

Later Saturday, international ministers and senior diplomats from eight key international locations — together with Saudi Arabia, Russia, Egypt, Turkey and Iran — together with Pedersen, gathered on the sidelines of the Doha summit to debate the state of affairs in Syria.

In a press release issued late Saturday, the individuals affirmed their assist for a political resolution to the Syrian disaster “that might result in the top of army exercise and shield civilians.” In addition they agreed on the significance of strengthening worldwide efforts to extend assist to the Syrian individuals.

The insurgents’ march 

Abdurrahman, of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, stated insurgents have been within the Damascus suburbs of Maadamiyah, Jaramana and Daraya. Opposition fighters have been additionally marching from jap Syria towards the Damascus suburb of Harasta, he stated.

HTS controls a lot of northwest Syria, and in 2017 it arrange a “salvation authorities” to run day-to-day affairs within the area. In recent times, HTS chief Abu Mohammed al-Golani has sought to remake the group’s picture, reducing ties with al-Qaeda, ditching hard-line officers and vowing to embrace pluralism and non secular tolerance.

The shock offensive started Nov. 27, throughout which gunmen captured the northern metropolis of Aleppo, Syria’s largest, and the central metropolis of Hama, the nation’s fourth-largest metropolis.

Opposition activists stated on Saturday {that a} day earlier, insurgents entered Palmyra, which is residence to invaluable archeological websites that had been in authorities arms since being taken from the Islamic militant group ISIS in 2017.

To the south, Syrian troops left a lot of the province of Quneitra, together with the primary Baath Metropolis, activists stated.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated authorities troops have withdrawn from a lot of the 2 southern provinces.

The Syrian military stated in a press release on Saturday that it has carried out redeployment and repositioning in Sweida and Daraa after its checkpoints got here beneath assault by “terrorists.” The military stated it’s organising a “sturdy and coherent defensive and safety belt within the space,” apparently to defend Damascus from the south.

The Syrian authorities has referred to opposition gunmen as terrorists for the reason that battle broke out in March 2011.