Syrian rebels take control of Damascus, say capital ‘now free of Assad’

The army command also notified officers that President Bashar al-Assad’s rule had ended following a lightning rebel offensive.

Assad flew out of Damascus for an unknown destination on Sunday, two senior army officers told Reuters, as rebels said they had entered the capital with no sign of army deployments.

Witnesses said thousands in cars and on foot congregated at a main square in Damascus, waving and chanting “Freedom.”

“We celebrate with the Syrian people the news of freeing our prisoners and releasing their chains and announcing the end of the era of injustice in Sednaya prison,” said the rebels.

Sednaya is a large military prison on the outskirts of Damascus where the Syrian government detained thousands.

A Syrian Air plane took off from Damascus airport around the time the capital was reported to have been taken by rebels, according to data from the Flightradar website.

The aircraft initially flew towards Syria’s coastal region, a stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect, but then made an abrupt U-turn and flew in the opposite direction for a few minutes before disappearing off the map.

The head of Syria’s main opposition group abroad Hadi al-Bahra Syrian on Sunday also declared that Damascus is now “without Bashar al-Assad”.

Just hours earlier, rebels announced they had gained full control of the key city of Homs after only a day of fighting, leaving Assad’s 24-year rule dangling by a thread.

Thousands of Homs residents poured onto the streets after the army withdrew from the central city, dancing and chanting “Assad is gone, Homs is free” and “Long live Syria and down with Bashar al-Assad”.

Rebels fired into the air in celebration, and youths tore down posters of the Syrian president, whose territorial control has collapsed in a dizzying week-long retreat by the military.

The fall of Homs gave the insurgents control over Syria’s strategic heartland and a key highway crossroads, severing Damascus from the coastal region that is the stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect and where his Russian allies have a naval base and air base.

Homs’ capture also symbolizes the rebel movement’s dramatic comeback in the 13-year-old conflict. Swathes of Homs were destroyed by gruelling siege warfare between the rebels and the army years ago. The fighting ground down the insurgents, who were forced out.

The main rebel leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, commander of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, called the capture of Homs a historic moment and urged fighters not to harm “those who drop their arms.”

Rebels freed thousands of detainees from the city prison. Security forces left in haste after burning their documents.

Syrian rebel commander Hassan Abdul Ghani said in a statement early Sunday that operations were ongoing to “completely liberate” the countryside around Damascus and rebel forces were looking toward the capital.

In one suburb, a statue of Assad’s father, the late President Hafez al-Assad, was toppled and torn apart.

Outside the city, rebels swept across the entire southwest over 24 hours and established control.