Syria’s ousted President Bashar al-Assad has arrived in Moscow, Russian state media has confirmed.
Kremlin officials told TASS news agency that Assad and his family arrived in the Russian capital on Sunday.
“Russia granted them asylum for humanitarian reasons,” the official added.
Read more: Latest news from Syria
Assad’s whereabouts were confirmed after Russian news agencies reported that the Russian government had signed an agreement with Syrian opposition leaders. Officials said the rebels guaranteed the security of Russian military bases and diplomatic posts in Syria.
A group of people take selfies at the Presidential Palace in Damascus, Syria. Photo: Associated Press
Assad left the Syrian capital Damascus, ending his 24-year rule, after his government collapsed following a blitzkrieg attack by rebels across Syria.
The whereabouts of him, his wife Asma, and their two children were initially unknown. Russia announced that Assad had left Syria after negotiations with rebel groups.
A Syrian rebel fighter sits inside the presidential office. Photo: Associated Press
With the former president on the run, footage on social media showed families joyfully ransacking the presidential palace in Damascus as thousands celebrated in the streets, some holding their own on a grand stage. Some people were taking pictures.
People also entered a building near Damascus Palace, where a luxury car believed to belong to the former president was stored.
Assad regime’s sports cars
Videos shared online showed people running around the garage, passing rows of red sports cars and huge four-wheel-drive vehicles.
Thousands of Syrians also gathered in Damascus’s main squares by car or on foot, calling for freedom.
In the main city of Homs, which rebel fighters took over after just one day of fighting, thousands more filled the streets after troops withdrew, chanting chants such as “Assad is gone, Homs is free” and “Long live Syria! And then Bashar collapses,” he shouted as he danced. Al-Assad.”
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People entering the Syrian Presidential Palace
Celebrations have also broken out in other countries around the world, with Syrians gathering in cities such as Madrid, Manchester and Tripoli in northern Lebanon to mark the historic occasion.
The fall of Mr. Assad’s regime marks a turning point for Syria, which has endured a 13-year civil war. It faced fighting on three fronts: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in the north, the southern front, and Kurdish groups in the east.
HTS is a Sunni Islamic extremist group formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra and with ties to al-Qaeda.
It has long been designated a terrorist group by the United States. In 2016, he cut ties with al-Qaeda in an effort to appear moderate.
File photo: AP
A man walks past a broken portrait of late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad inside a ransacked mansion. Photo: Associated Press
The Syrian opposition, which is made up of various rebel factions, said it was working on a transition to a new governing body with full executive powers.
“The great Syrian revolution has moved from the stage of struggle to overthrow the Assad regime to the stage of struggle to build together a Syria worthy of the sacrifices of its people,” the coalition said in a statement, calling the event “a new chapter in the great revolution.” It was expressed as “Birth”. Syria”.
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People riding the Assad statue through the city
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“The future is ours,” HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, who led the uprising, declared in a statement read out on Syrian state television.
He said there was “no room for turning back” and that his group was “determined” to continue on the path it started in 2011.
Abu Mohammad Al Jolani speaking at the Great Umayyad Mosque in Damascus
Addressing a crowd inside the vast Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, he later described the fall of Assad as a “victory for the Islamic State.”
“My brothers, after this great victory, a new history is being written across the region,” he added.
World leaders react to fall of Assad regime
Russia, which along with Iran has helped support the Assad regime, has called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the situation in Syria, a Kremlin official posted on Telegram.
Elsewhere, US President Joe Biden described Mr Assad’s ouster as an “act of fundamental justice” but also a “dangerous moment”, and Sir Keir Starmer urged all sides to protect civilians and protect the vulnerable. He called on the government to ensure that aid is delivered to the country.
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President Biden promises to help Syria’s neighbors
The British Prime Minister said: “The developments in Syria in recent hours and days have been unprecedented and we are speaking to our partners in the region and monitoring the situation closely.”
“The Syrian people have suffered for too long under Assad’s barbaric regime and we welcome his departure. We are now committed to ensuring a political solution prevails and restoring peace and stability. focused.”
Sir Keir will now meet with the leaders of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
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Syrian refugee: ‘I can’t wait to go home’
US President-elect Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that countries should not get involved in the conflict because Syria is “not our friend.”
In a new update Sunday morning, before it was confirmed that Mr. Assad had defected to Moscow, he said: “Mr. Assad is gone. He has fled the country. His protectors, Russia led by (Russian president), Russia. , Russia,” he added. President Vladimir Putin was no longer interested in protecting him.
“Russia and Iran are currently in a weakened state, one because of Ukraine and the recession, and the other because of Israel and its success in the fight.”
People step on the Syrian government flag in front of the Syrian embassy in Madrid. Photo: Reuters
Israeli military bombs Damascus – Report
Meanwhile, Israel carried out three airstrikes against key security complexes in Damascus, two regional security sources told Reuters.
The IDF is also said to be targeting a research center in the Syrian capital. According to Israel, the center was used by Iranian scientists to develop missiles.
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What happened to Bashar al-Assad?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Assad’s ouster as a “historic day.”
During a visit to areas near the border with Syria, he said he had ordered Israeli forces to occupy the Golan Heights buffer zone, adding: “We will not allow any hostile forces to establish themselves on our borders.” Ta.
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Prime Minister Netanyahu said this was necessary to “ensure the protection of all Israeli communities in the Golan Heights” after Syrian soldiers abandoned their positions there.
The Golan region was occupied by Israel during the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed. The international community, with the exception of the United States, considers this area to be occupied territory.
