The newest:
- Biden calls authorities collapse an “act of justice,” however warns of Mideast “uncertainty.”
- Rebels promise a “free Syrian state” totally different from Assad’s regime.
- Russia requested an emergency session of the UN Safety Council.
- Israel says troops had seized a buffer zone within the Golan Heights .
- UN envoy urges pressing talks in Geneva to make sure “orderly political transition.”
Ousted Syrian chief Bashar Assad fled to Moscow and obtained asylum from his longtime ally, Russian media stated Sunday, hours after a surprising insurgent advance seized management of Damascus and ended his household’s 50 years of iron rule.
Russian information businesses, citing a Kremlin supply, reported on Sunday that Assad and his household have arrived in Moscow and have been granted asylum by Russian authorities.
The Interfax information company quoted the unnamed supply as saying asylum was granted “on humanitarian grounds.” The Kremlin has not confirmed these stories.
Hundreds of Syrians poured into streets echoing with celebratory gunfire and waved the revolutionary flag in scenes that recalled the early days of the Arab Spring rebellion, earlier than a brutal crackdown and the rise of an insurgency plunged the nation into an almost 14-year civil battle.
The swiftly shifting occasions raised questions on the way forward for the nation and the broader area.
“Our method has shifted the stability of energy within the Center East,” U.S. President Joe Biden stated, crediting motion by the U.S. and its allies for weakening Syria’s backers — Russia, Iran and Hezbollah.
He known as the autumn of Assad a “basic act of justice” but additionally a “second of danger and uncertainty,” and stated insurgent teams are “saying the appropriate issues now” however the U.S. would assess their actions.
Russia requested an emergency session of the UN Safety Council to debate Syria, in keeping with Dmitry Polyansky, its deputy ambassador to the UN, in a submit on Telegram.
The arrival of Assad and his household in Moscow was reported by Russian businesses Tass and RIA, citing an unidentified supply on the Kremlin. A spokesperson there did not instantly reply to questions. RIA additionally stated Syrian insurgents had assured the safety of Russian navy bases and diplomatic posts in Syria.
Earlier, Russia stated Assad left Syria after negotiations with insurgent teams and that he had given directions to switch energy peacefully.
Rebels promise ‘free Syrian state’
The chief of Syria’s largest insurgent faction, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, is poised to chart the nation’s future. The previous al-Qaeda commander reduce ties with the group years in the past and says he embraces pluralism and spiritual tolerance. His Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, is taken into account a terrorist group by the U.S. and the UN.
In his first public look since fighters entered the Damascus suburbs Saturday, al-Golani visited the Umayyad Mosque and described Assad’s fall as “a victory to the Islamic nation.” Calling himself by his given identify, Ahmad al-Sharaa, and never his nom de guerre, he stated Assad had made Syria “a farm for Iran’s greed.”
The rebels face the daunting process of therapeutic bitter divisions in a rustic ravaged by battle and break up amongst armed factions. Turkey-backed opposition fighters are battling U.S.-allied Kurdish forces within the north, and the Islamic State group remains to be lively in distant areas.
Syrian state tv broadcast a insurgent assertion saying Assad had been overthrown and all prisoners had been launched. They urged individuals to protect the establishments of “the free Syrian state,” and introduced a curfew in Damascus from 4 p.m. to five a.m.
Insurgent commander Anas Salkhadi appeared on state TV and sought to reassure non secular and ethnic minorities, saying: “Syria is for everybody, no exceptions. Syria is for Druze, Sunnis, Alawites, and all sects.”
“We is not going to cope with individuals the best way the Assad household did,” he stated.
An individual at Lebanon’s border with Syria informed CBC Information on Sunday that he and his household have come to the crossing hoping to return to Syria.
Talking by way of an interpreter, he stated he and his household fled Syria eight years in the past as a result of “they’re wished [by] the regime.”
‘Like a dream’
Damascus residents prayed in mosques and celebrated in squares, calling, “God is nice.” Folks additionally chanted anti-Assad slogans and honked automotive horns. Teen boys picked up weapons that had apparently been discarded by safety forces and fired them within the air.
Troopers and cops left their posts and fled, and looters broke into the Defence Ministry. Households wandered the presidential palace, strolling by broken portraits of Assad. Different components of the capital have been empty and outlets have been closed.
“It is like a dream. I want somebody to wake me up,” stated opposition fighter Abu Laith, including the rebels have been welcomed in Damascus with “love.”
Rebels stood guard on the Justice Ministry, the place Decide Khitam Haddad stated he and colleagues have been defending paperwork. Exterior, residents sought details about relations who disappeared below Assad.
Syria’s traditionally pro-government newspaper al-Watan known as it “a brand new web page for Syria. We thank God for not shedding extra blood.” It added that media employees shouldn’t be blamed for publishing previous authorities statements ordered from above.
- What questions do you could have about Syria and the autumn of Bashar al-Assad? Are you a Syrian refugee in Canada — what’s your response? Go away your questions and feedback right here to be a part of Cross Nation Checkup at present at 4 p.m. ET.
A press release from the Alawite sect — to which Assad belongs and which has shaped the core of his base — known as on younger Syrians to be “calm, rational and prudent and to not be dragged into what tears aside the unity of our nation.”
The rebels primarily come from the Sunni Muslim majority in Syria, which additionally has sizable Druze, Christian and Kurdish communities.
Requires ‘orderly’ transition
The insurgent advances since Nov. 27 have been the biggest in recent times, and noticed the cities of Aleppo, Hama and Homs fall in a matter of days because the Syrian military melted away. The highway to Damascus from the Lebanese border was plagued by navy uniforms and charred armoured automobiles.
Russia, Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, which offered essential assist to Assad all through the rebellion, deserted him within the last days as they reeled from different conflicts.
The tip of Assad’s rule was a significant blow to Iran and its proxies, already weakened by battle with Israel. Iran stated Syrians ought to determine their future “with out damaging, coercive, international intervention.” The Iranian Embassy in Damascus was ransacked after apparently having been deserted.
Broderick McDonald, a researcher at King’s Faculty London’s Worldwide Centre for the Examine of Radicalisation, says the insurgent armed offensive efficiently ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as a result of international locations like Iran, Hezbollah and Russia are ‘more and more distracted’ with different conflicts.’ Nonetheless, he added that cautious planning performed a giant position.
Hossein Akbari, Iran’s ambassador to Syria, stated it was “successfully unattainable” to assist the Syrian authorities after it admitted the insurgents’ navy superiority. Talking on Iranian state media from an undisclosed location, he stated Syria’s authorities determined Saturday night time handy over energy peacefully.
“When the military and the individuals couldn’t resist, it was a very good determination to let go to forestall bloodshed and destruction,” Akbari stated, including that a few of his colleagues left Syria earlier than dawn.
Iran’s Overseas Minister Abbas Araghchi, talking on state TV, stated there have been considerations in regards to the “risk of civil battle, disintegration of Syria, whole collapse and turning Syria right into a shelter for terrorists.”
Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali has stated the federal government was able to “prolong its hand” to the opposition and switch its features over to a transitional authorities. A video shared on Syrian opposition media confirmed a gaggle of armed males escorting him out of his workplace and to the 4 Seasons lodge on Sunday.
The UN’s particular envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, known as Saturday for pressing talks in Geneva to make sure an “orderly political transition.”
The Gulf nation of Qatar, a key regional mediator, hosted an emergency assembly of international ministers and high officers from eight international locations with pursuits in Syria late Saturday. The members included Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Turkey.
Ali Kharsa and his household left Syria in 2011 amid the outbreak of battle and arrived in Canada in 2015. Following the collapse of President Bashar al-Assad’s authorities on Sunday, Kharsa shared his emotions in addition to these of his family members again in Syria. ‘They’re all celebrating. They’re all saying, ‘We’re free.'”
Majed bin Mohammed al-Ansari, Qatar’s Overseas Affairs Ministry spokesperson and an adviser to the prime minister, informed reporters that they agreed on the necessity “to have interaction all events on the bottom,” together with the HTS, and that the principle concern is “stability and protected transition.”
In the meantime, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated Israeli troops had seized a buffer zone within the occupied Golan Heights established in 1974, saying it was to guard Israeli residents after Syrian troops deserted positions. Israel’s navy later warned residents of 5 southern Syria communities to remain dwelling for his or her security, and did not reply to questions.
Israel captured the Golan within the 1967 Mideast battle and later annexed it. The worldwide neighborhood, apart from the U.S., views it as occupied, and the Arab League on Sunday condemned what it known as Israel’s efforts to make the most of Assad’s downfall to occupy extra territory.
