Opposition forces took Damascus early on Sunday, ending the al-Assad household’s 50-year reign in a shock offensive that reached the capital in solely 12 days.
The offensive started on November 27, when opposition forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), launched an assault from their base within the Idlib governorate in northwestern Syria after which rolled on southwards to unseat Bashar al-Assad.
Right here is how the final two days of combating unfolded.
December 7: Closing in on the capital
Deraa awakens: On Saturday, opposition forces captured a lot of the southern Syrian area of Deraa – the birthplace of the 2011 rebellion.
Folks additionally took issues into their very own arms and joined the combat, then marched north with the fighters, based on political analyst and activist Nour Adeh.
#Syria: the city of Ghabaghib in northern #Daraa following its liberation from the #Assad regime.
That is the ultimate city in Daraa o be confirmed to be freed from the regime. pic.twitter.com/EvcLdm9JTw
— Thomas van Linge (@ThomasVLinge) December 7, 2024
Sweida follows swimsuit: Sweida was liberated from regime forces and underneath the management of Druze factions by Saturday morning.
Closing in on Damascus: The southern teams headed north whereas the northwestern fighters closed in on Homs, the subsequent metropolis on the freeway to Damascus.
The regime was feeling the pinch because it watched opposition fighters approaching from all sides.
Its forces had been in organisational collapse, based on Sanad, Al Jazeera’s digital investigation company, with photographs rising of troopers abandoning their weapons and uniforms whereas many fled on foot from their army positions.
The folks rise: This collapse in morale triggered widespread demonstrations within the rural areas surrounding Damascus, the place protesters tore down posters of al-Assad and attacked army positions.
December 8: The ultimate hours
Liberation of Homs: Determined to cease the opposition, the regime bombed the Rastan Bridge, however opposition forces captured Homs regardless, within the very early hours of Sunday.
With that, they’d minimize al-Assad off from his coastal strongholds, the place two Russian army bases are situated.
The seize of Homs was a “demise knell .. for the remaining risk that the Syrian military would consolidate its powers and make a stand,” College of Oklahoma professor Joshua Landis instructed Al Jazeera.
On the street to Damascus: With armed opposition teams closing in on Damascus from all instructions, the town plunged into chaos.
The army operations room deployed the “Pink Crescent” division, specifically educated for city assaults, whereas many authorities forces had been instructed to withdraw to Damascus Worldwide Airport and the safety centres in central Damascus, however to no avail.
First, Mezzeh: The opposition fighters mentioned they’d taken management of Damascus’s Mezzeh Air Base, a strategic and symbolic win as a result of the bottom was utilized by the federal government for rocket assaults and air raids in opposition to opposition-held territory all through the battle.
Then, Umayyad Sq.: Inside two hours, new footage emerged from Umayyad Sq. within the coronary heart of Damascus, displaying residents celebrating as opposition forces entered the capital unopposed, with celebratory gunfire and chants signalling the autumn of al-Assad.
#Syria: regime troopers have deserted the Umayyad Sq. within the middle of #Damascus.
Residents are taking up the streets. pic.twitter.com/LHCNbqTPz1
— Thomas van Linge (@ThomasVLinge) December 8, 2024
‘Syria is free’: By 6am on December 8, the fighters declared Damascus liberated, confirming that Bashar al-Assad had fled the nation.
Folks shortly dismantled symbols of the al-Assad household’s merciless rule.
David Des Roches, an affiliate professor on the Close to East South Asia Heart for Strategic Research, attributed the success of the offensive to the “lack of morale and management” within the “demoralised, poorly led, poorly outfitted, completely corrupt” Syrian Military.
Prisoners emerge from Sednaya: Shortly after opposition fighters freed thousands of people who had been imprisoned for the reason that Syrian rebellion started in 2011, or earlier.
Sednaya, established within the early Eighties north of Damascus, has been a spot the place the al-Assad household has detained opponents for many years. Human rights organisations have described it as a “human slaughterhouse”.
Through the liberation of the infamous Sednaya jail in Damascus, a small baby was seen as prisoners had been launched.
This Syrian baby was born within the jail.
30,000 Syrians had been brutally killed from torture and executions since 2011.
There are not any phrases to explain the… pic.twitter.com/T4TkwoTscj
— زاھىد ئەختەر – Zahid Akhtar (@ZahidDOAM) December 8, 2024
