HTS-led rebels took control of most of Aleppo – Syria’s second-largest city – on November 30, just three days after launching a surprise offensive. They said they faced little resistance on the ground after the government quickly withdrew its troops and security forces.
Assad has promised to “crush” the rebels with the help of his allies. Russian warplanes have stepped up strikes on rebel-held areas, while Iranian-backed militias have sent reinforcements to shore up defense lines around Hama, the next town south of the Aleppo-Damascus highway.
However, on Thursday, after several days of fierce fighting, Hama was killed by the rebels, who eventually forced the military to withdraw.
The rebels immediately announced that their next objective was to capture Homs, Syria’s third-largest city, and achieved it on Saturday night after a full day of fighting.
At the same time, other rebel groups based in the southwest of the country, which borders Jordan, reached the outskirts of Damascus after taking control of the cities of Deraa and Suwayd in just 24 hours.
Early Sunday morning, HTS-led rebels announced they had entered Damascus and freed prisoners from the country’s most notorious military prison, Saidanay, where thousands of opposition supporters are believed to have been executed during the civil war.
Less than two hours later, they announced, “The tyrant Bashar al-Assad has escaped.”
“After 50 years of oppression under Baath rule and 13 years of crimes and tyranny and (violent) displacement … we announce today the end of this dark period and the beginning of a new era for Syria,” they said.
Senior army officers said the president had flown out of the capital in an unknown direction shortly before the rebels arrived.
Prime Minister Assad, Mohammed al-Jalali, announced in a video that he was “ready to cooperate with” any leadership that “the Syrian people choose.”
Daulani ordered his forces to stay away from official institutions, saying they would remain under the prime minister’s authority until they were “officially” handed over.
