Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime fell on Sunday morning as state television proclaimed the end of his rule and the country’s prime minister promised to cooperate with rebels. The armed Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham pushed into the capital, Damascus, on Sunday, the culmination of an advance that unfolded in less than two weeks. As people celebrated on the streets, a rebel leader on state television said Syrians “were fed up with 50 years of Assad rule.” The whereabouts of Assad, whose family had ruled Syria for over five decades, remain unknown. HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani warned fighters against attacking state facilities, which he said will remain under the prime minister’s supervision “until they are officially handed over.”
Who is Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the Islamist rebel leading the Syrian advance?
Amid a rebel offensive that stunned the Syrian regime, the 42-year-old man leading it made a surprising strategic decision: He used his real name.
In an official message Thursday after its fighters entered Hama, the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Islamist militant group shared a message that was signed Ahmed al-Sharaa — the birth name of a rebel leader better known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani.
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Syrian state television celebrated the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s government on Sunday, hailing an end to over 50 years of his family’s rule as rebels advanced into the capital. “The great Syrian revolution has succeeded, and the criminal regime of Assad has fallen,” the state outlet reported.
Mazloum Abdi, commander in chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led alliance, said in a statement that “we are living through historic moments as we witness the fall of the authoritarian regime in Damascus. This change presents an opportunity to build a new Syria based on democracy and justice that guarantees the rights of all Syrians.”
Israel said Sunday morning that it is deploying personnel to the buffer zone between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights region for its defense, in light of the events in Syria. The Israel Defense Forces added that it is not interfering in the situation unfolding in Syria.
Video: Man tears down image of slain Hezbollah leader at Iranian Embassy in Damascus
On Dec. 8, after rebels entered Damascus, Syrians tore down an image of slain Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah outside the Iranian embassy. (Video: Obtaind by The Post/TWP)
A video obtained by The Washington Post shows a man at the Iranian Embassy in Damascus tearing a large poster of slain Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah and Iran’s military commander Qasem Soleimani, after news of rebel forces entering the capital spread. Iran, along with Russia, has been the principal backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Photos: Damascus residents celebrate insurgent group’s arrival
Some residents of Damascus cheered, pumped their fists into the air and waved weapons in an apparent celebration of Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s announcement Sunday that its forces had entered the capital city.
The insurgent group said it’s searching for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has managed to hold onto his authority throughout the country’s 13-year civil war. HTS has a stated goal of overthrowing Assad’s government.
The shocking speed of Syria’s rebel advance against Assad: A visual timeline
(Video: The Washington Post)
His poster once loomed over almost every corner. Family statues stood over busy streets.
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What led to Syria’s 13-year civil war, and why has fighting surged again?
Syrian opposition forces made shock advances over the past few days, taking control of the cities of Aleppo and Hama and claiming to have breached Damascus early Sunday. It is a stunning challenge to President Bashar al-Assad that has refocused global attention on the nation’s years-long civil war.
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Celebrations erupt across Damascus
Residents jump out of cars in Damascus to celebrate the arrival of rebel forces in video published to social media in the early hours of Dec. 8. (Video: X)
In the early hours of Sunday morning, Damascus residents jumped out of their cars and streamed to historic Umayyad Square, according to video published to social media and verified by The Washington Post. Men gathered around an armored vehicle and climbed on top of it as people played music. Nearly everyone on the scene filmed the historic moment on a cellphone.
President Biden and his team are closely monitoring the unfolding situation in Syria and remain in touch with regional partners, U.S. National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said on X, describing them as “extraordinary events.”
Syrian prime minister pledges cooperation with rebels
In a video released online, Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali appeared to strike a conciliatory tone and promised cooperation. “We extend our hand even to the opposition who extended their hand and confirmed that they will not harm any person who belongs to the Syrian homeland,” he said.
What is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham?
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham — the Islamist militant group that claimed to have breached Damascus early Sunday in search of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad — has been leading an assault against Syrian government forces in recent weeks, reigniting a civil war that had largely ground to a halt.
Syria’s state-run news network continued to broadcast early Sunday morning, although it was not clear if the programming was live. A military analyst was interviewed about the rebel offensive, and news programs broadcast reports about the Russia’s war in Ukraine as well the Israeli military offensive in Gaza. Station breaks showed scenes of cultural heritage from around Syria.
Sweeping Syrian rebel advance resurrects U.S. fears of Islamist takeover
When a patchwork of rebel armies threatened Syria’s capital a decade ago, governments from Washington to the Middle East were forced to confront a jarring possibility: A collapse of Syria’s brutal autocracy might lead to the rise of something even worse.
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