Syrian civil war: US strikes ISIS, IDF take Mount Hermon peak

The head of Syria's main opposition group abroad, Hadi al-Bahra, told Al Jazeera Mubasher TV on Sunday that they would meet with Arab and European countries and the United Nations to agree on next stage for the country.

The Syrian army command has notified officers that President Bashar al-Assad's rule has ended following a lightning rebel offensive, a Syrian officer who was informed of the move told Reuters.

At the same time, the head of Syria's main opposition group abroad Hadi al-Bahra Syrian said on Sunday that Damascus is now "free of Bashar al-Assad."

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.

Thousands in cars and on foot congregated at a main square in Damascus waving and chanting "Freedom," witnesses said.

People gather in the city center, celebrating the anti-regime armed groups, opposing the Bashar al-Assad regime taking control of the city center of Hama, Syria on December 5, 2024. (credit: Ammar Hatib/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Statement from rebels

On its telegram, the rebel group stated "After 50 years of oppression under the regime, and 13 years of crime, tyranny and displacement, and after a long struggle and fight and confronting all forms of occupation forces, we announce today on 12-8-2024 the end of this dark era and the beginning of a new era for Syria."

"To the displaced all over the world, free Syria awaits you."

It added that the new Syria will be a place where everyone "coexists in peace, justice prevails and rights are established, where every Syrian is honored and his dignity is preserved, we turn the page on the dark past and open a new horizon for the future."

Syrian President Bashar al-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.

Thousands in cars and on foot congregated at a main square in Damascus waving and chanting "Freedom," witnesses said.

"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 Damascus where the Syrian government detained thousands.

Anti-regime armed groups advancing in Syria's strategically important province of Homs, the gateway to the capital Damascus, reach the inner parts of the city center in Homs, Syria on December 06, 2024. (credit: Izettin Kasim/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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.

Reuters could not immediately ascertain who was on board.

Capture of Homs

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.

Intense sounds of shooting were heard in the center of the Damascus, two residents said on Sunday, although it was not immediately clear what the source of the shooting was.

In rural areas southwest of the capital, local youths and former rebels took advantage of the loss of authority to come to the streets in acts of defiance against the Assad family's authoritarian rule.

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 gives 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 is also a powerful symbol of the rebel movement's dramatic comeback in the 13-year-old conflict. Swathes of Homs were destroyed by grueling siege warfare between the rebels and the army years ago. The fighting ground down the insurgents, who were forced out.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the main rebel leader, 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.

Residents of numerous Damascus districts turned out to protest Assad on Saturday evening, and security forces were either unwilling or unable to clamp down.

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.

The Syrian army said it was reinforcing around Damascus, and state television reported on Saturday that Assad remained in the city.

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

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad boarded a plane and left to an unknown destination, two senior army officers familiar with the incident told Reuters on Sunday.

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said on Sunday that he remained in his home and was ready to support continuity of governance, after President Bashar al-Assad fled Damascus as rebels entered the capital.

Syria's army command notified officers that Assad's 24-year rule had ended following a lightning rebel offensive, a Syrian officer who was informed of the move told Reuters.

Intense sounds of shooting were heard in the center of the Syrian capital Damascus, two residents said on Sunday as rebels march towards the capital.

It was not immediately clear where was the source of the shooting, two residents who live in a residential area close to the center of the capital said.

Syrian rebels announced they gained full control over the key city of Homs early on Sunday after only a day of fighting, leaving President Bashar al-Assad's 24-year rule dangling by a thread as insurgents marched on the capital, Damascus.

The Syrian rebels announced that they have entered Damascus in a statement to their Telegram channels on Sunday morning.

Reuters, citing two separate rebel sources, said that there is no sign of army deployments.

Earlier in the night, the Syrian Republican Guard were reported to have fled the Al-Maliki neighborhood of the city, where Bashar al-Assad's house is located in Damascus.

Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a former Al-Qaeda affiliate, said on Saturday it has no intention of using chemical weapons under the control of Syrian authorities "under any circumstances."

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar have issued strong warnings to Syrian factions to avoid violating existing agreements between Israel and the Syrian state in statements issued on Saturday night.

This came after Syrian factions made rapid gains against Assad, seizing the entirety of the Syrian Golan and beginning encirclement of Damascus.

Sa'ar took to X to warn Syrian factions to avoid continuing to violate the existing ceasefire between Israel and Syria from 1974.

"During the last day, armed forces entered the buffer zone on the Syrian side of the border with Israel. Among other things, attacks were carried out on the UNDF force in the area."

"Israel is troubled by the violations of the separation of forces agreement with Syria from May 1974, which also expresses a threat to its security and the security of its settlements and citizens, with an emphasis on the settlements of the Golan Heights. The State of Israel does not intervene in the internal conflict in Syria."

Rebel fighters seen in Homs countryside, in Syria, December 7, 2024 (credit: REUTERS/Mahmoud Hasano)

An offensive response

Halevi conducted a situational assessment and the approval process for defensive and offensive plans for the 210th Division alongside members of the General Staff Forum and the commanding officer of the 210th Division on Saturday on the border with Syria.

Halevi issued statements warning armed factions that violations would be met with an "offensive response," however, he also stressed that, alongside these efforts, Israel would not intervene in events in Syria.

"The primary focus is on observing Iran's movements and interests, which is our top priority. The secondary focus is on local factions who are taking control of the area, assessing their actions, behavior, and deterrence levels, and ensuring they do not mistakenly direct their actions toward us," Halevi said during a situation assessment on the border with Syria.

"We must conduct a situational assessment every few hours. At this cadence, every event here defines the new standard and causes changes. In order to understand developments, we are monitoring the situation very closely with all our intelligence-gathering capabilities."

"If such confusion does arise, there is an offensive response backed by very strong defensive responses. We must be prepared both offensively and defensively."

Dozens of fighters from Hezbollah's elite Radwan forces fled the Syrian city of Homs after a decision was taken with the Syrian army that the city could no longer be defended, a Syrian army officer told Reuters on Saturday.