A PLANE vanished off radar as ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad fled Syria – together with his location now unknown.
It comes after the dictator’s government was overthrown by rebels that seized the capital in a lightning blitz and declared victory on Saturday.
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It marks the top to Assad’s merciless 24-year rule of the nation with rebels now looking for the deposed tyrant.
Conflicting experiences of his location have emerged – with Assad making no announcement.
The Russian Ministry of International Affairs claimed humiliated Assad stepped down as president, fled the nation, and begged for a “peaceable switch” of energy.
However one flight vanished simply as opposition forces stormed Damascus – sparking rumours it had been shot down.
A Syrian Air airplane took off from Damascus airport and flew in the direction of Syria‘s coastal area, a stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect.
It comes as…
- Rebels say Damascus is now ‘freed from Assad’ as hundreds take to streets of capital
- Assad leaves Syrian capital on airplane for unknown vacation spot
- Insurgent commander says they’ve seized management of Homs – the nation’s third greatest metropolis
- Syria’s Prime Minister says he’s ‘prepared at hand over energy’ as he is escorted from house by rebels
- Israel deploys forces to UN-monitored buffer zone of the Golan Heights however ‘will not intrude’
- Trump says US ought to have ‘nothing to do’ with Syrian rebellion
The flight made an abrupt U-turn over Homs and flew in the other way for a couple of minutes earlier than disappearing off radar.
The reason for its disappearance has not been confirmed with the chance that it turned off its transponder.
Reuters couldn’t instantly verify who was on board the Ilyushin Il-76T – a kind of airplane utilized by the Russian army.
The flight dropped off radar at 5.29am – 40 minutes after takeoff – with altitude information exhibiting it made a descent.
Two Syrian sources recommended Assad might have been killed in a crash after the shock U-turn and plunging altitude.
One supply mentioned: “It disappeared off the radar, probably the transponder was switched off, however I imagine the larger likelihood is that the plane was taken down.”
In an announcement, Flightradar24 mentioned the airplane’s sign was misplaced close to Homs – however that might be due to an older transponder.
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They mentioned: “The plane was flying in an space of GPS jamming, so some information could be dangerous.”
It is also doable the pilots turned off the transponder.
Report claimed Assad flew to the Russian-operated Khmeimim Air Base in part of Syria nonetheless loyal to the regime.
Others speculated Assad may have managed to fly to the UAE or crossed the border into Iraq – which his brother Vitin did.
Rebels at the moment are looking for the merciless dictator – infamous for nerve gasoline assaults on kids in 2013.
Syria’s military command confirmed Assad’s rule is over – whereas rebels mentioned Damascus is now “free”.
There was no official assertion from Assad’s authorities.
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Fighters have posted footage from inside Assad’s presidential palace as they rejoice their beautiful win.
They are often seen looting the constructing, sitting at desks utilized by the regime solely hours earlier than, and taking selfies within the gilded halls.
In an announcement learn out on Syrian TV, insurgent fighters declared victory and mentioned: “Lengthy reside Syria, free and proud for all Syrians of all sects.
“Town of Damascus has been liberated, the tyrant Bashar al-Assad has been overthrown, and all unjustly detained prisoners have been launched from the regime’s prisons.”
Statues of the Assad household have been toppled across the nation with a bust of Hafez being decapitated late Saturday.
A golden statue of Assad was torn down and ridden by rebels because it was pulled by a truck.
In the meantime, Syria’s prime minister mentioned he was prepared at hand over energy.
Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali was seen leaving his house flanked by rebel fighters with AK-47s.
Reviews mentioned al-Jalali was headed to the rebels’ headquarters in Damascus to start the transition of energy to the victorious militants.
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In an earlier video assertion, he mentioned: “The matter is as much as any management chosen by the folks and we’re able to cooperate and all of the properties of the folks and the establishments of the Syrian state should be preserved.
“I hope all Syrians suppose rationally concerning the pursuits of their nation.”
In a victory assertion, rebels congratulated the nation on overthrowing Assad.
The Syrian Nationwide Coalition mentioned: “The nice Syrian revolution has damaged many years of tyranny and oppression, giving beginning to a brand new Syria.
“At present, it has moved from the battle to overthrow the Assad regime to the battle to construct a Syria that honours the sacrifices of its folks.”
It additionally declared a dedication to switch energy to a transitional governing physique and goal “for a free, democratic, and pluralistic Syria”.
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Insurgent fighters attacking from the south arrived in Damascus yesterday after shortly advancing by means of the countryside.
Final night time, opposition forces additionally seized management the important thing metropolis of Homs, Syria’s third largest, as authorities forces deserted it.
The victories are the end result of the offensive launched on November 27 that shortly captured territory within the north of the nation.
Regime forces appeared to soften away in opposition to the offensive which attacked in a coordination style from the north and south.
In response to Assad’s ouster, neighbouring nations are responding.
Russia is now withdrawing its ships from its Tartus Naval Base and transferring weapons again to the nation by airplane, in accordance with Ukraine.
The autumn of Assad is a humiliating blow for Vladimir Putin who had backed the tyrant in the course of the civil conflict.
In return, the Kremlin was allowed to function two army bases inside Syria.
A kind of was a naval base – giving the Russian a port within the Mediterranean.
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All pro-Iranian forces have reportedly withdrawn from the nation in a humiliating blow to the Ayatollah.
In the meantime, Israel bombed army airports and ammunition depots in Damascus and claiming they’ll stop “vital weapons” from falling into the palms of the rebels.
That is more likely to imply Assad’s chemical weapon stockpile.
Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned: “That is an historic day within the historical past of the Center East.
“We won’t permit any hostile power to determine itself on our border.”
The US has declared it intends to keep up a presence in japanese Syria that’s says is important to combat ISIS.
Nevertheless, incoming president Donald Trump acknowledged in a social media publish he needs little to do with the Syria.
In a publish he mentioned: “This isn’t our combat… Let it play out. Don’t become involved!”
In the meantime, Iran mentioned it was monitoring the state of affairs – saying determination making “rests solely with the folks of Syria”.
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It mentioned “long-standing and pleasant relations” between Iran and Syria are anticipated to proceed.
Thousands of Syrians in Lebanon are now trying to cross at the border after the rebels told Syrian refugees they could return home.
Opposition forces have also announced a curfew for Damascus between 4pm tonight and 5am tomorrow morning.
Militants have also stormed the Iranian and Italian embassies and the Iraqi embassy has been evacuated to Lebanon.
Syrians around the world are celebrating the overthrow of the government – with the rebels telling refugees they can return home.
Some 4million Syrians now live in Turkey and another 1.5million in Europe – having fled the civil war over the past 14 years.
A timeline of the Syrian civil war
The sudden collapse of Assad’s rule over Syria could mark the end of a nearly 14-year civil war in the country.
2011 – The first protests against Assad quickly spread across the country, and are met by security forces with a wave of arrests and shootings.
Some protesters take up guns and military units defect as the uprising becomes an armed revolt that will gain support from Western and Arab countries and Turkey.
2012 – A bombing in Damascus is the first by al Qaeda’s new Syrian affiliate, the Nusra Front, which gains in power and starts crushing groups with a nationalist ideology.
World powers meet in Geneva and agree on the need for a political transition, but their divisions on how to achieve it will foil years of U.N.-sponsored peace efforts.
Assad turns his air force on opposition strongholds, as rebels gain ground and the war escalates with massacres on both sides.
2013 – Lebanon’s Hezbollah helps Assad to victory at Qusayr, halting rebel momentum and showing the Iran-backed group’s growing role in the conflict.
Washington has declared chemical weapons use a red line, but a gas attack on rebel-held eastern Ghouta near Damascus kills scores of civilians without triggering a U.S. military response.
2014 – Islamic State group suddenly seizes Raqqa in the northeast and swathes more territory in Syria and Iraq.
Rebels in the Old City of Homs surrender, agreeing to move to an outer suburb – their first big defeat in a major urban area and a precursor to future “evacuation” deals.
Washington builds an anti-Islamic State coalition and starts air strikes, helping Kurdish forces turn the jihadist tide but creating friction with its ally Turkey.
2015 – With better cooperation and more arms from abroad, rebel groups gain more ground and seize northwestern Idlib, but Islamist militants are taking a bigger role.
Russia joins the war on Assad’s side with air strikes that turn the conflict against the rebels for years to come.
2016 – Alarmed by Kurdish advances on the border, Turkey launches an incursion with allied rebels, making a new zone of Turkish control.
The Syrian army and its allies defeat rebels in Aleppo, seen at the time as Assad’s biggest victory of the war.
The Nusra Front splits from al Qaeda and starts trying to present itself in a moderate light, adopting a series of new names and eventually settling on Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
2017 – Israel acknowledges air strikes against Hezbollah in Syria, aiming to degrade the growing strength of Iran and its allies.
U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led forces defeat Islamic State in Raqqa. That offensive, and a rival one by the Syrian army, drive the jihadist group from nearly all its land.
2018 – The Syrian army recaptures eastern Ghouta, before quickly retaking the other insurgent enclaves in central Syria, and then the rebels’ southern bastion of Deraa.
2019 – Islamic State loses its last scrap of territory in Syria. The U.S. decides to keep some troops in the country to prevent attacks on its Kurdish allies.
2020 – Russia backs a government offensive that ends with a ceasefire with Turkey that freezes most front lines. Assad holds most territory and all main cities, appearing deeply entrenched. Rebels hold the northwest.
A Turkey-backed force holds a border strip. Kurdish-led forces control the northeast.
2023 – The Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 triggers fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, ultimately reducing the group’s presence in Syria and fatally undermining Assad.
2024 – Rebels launch a new assault on Aleppo. With Assad’s allies focused elsewhere his army quickly collapses. Eight days after the fall of Aleppo the rebels have taken most major cities and enter Damascus, driving Assad from power.
