A statue of late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, the father of President Bashar al-Assad, has been demolished in the city of Hama.
Syrian rebels say yes took full control the country’s second largest city after the departure of the military.
The leader of the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Abu Mohammed al-Jowlani, declared “victory” in Hama and vowed that “there will be no revenge.”
Earlier, HTS fighters and their allies seized Hama’s central prison and freed prisoners amid fierce fighting, while the military said it had redeployed troops outside the city.
Home to one million people, Hama is 110 km (70 miles) south of Aleppo, which the rebels captured last week after launching a surprise offensive from their stronghold in the country’s northwest.
In Aleppoa statue of President Bashar al-Assad’s late brother, Basel, was destroyed a few days ago.
