Syrian opposition forces capture Damascus, announce Assad’s escape
On Sunday morning, the united forces of the Syrian opposition announced the liberation of the capital Damascus, and the flight of President Bashar al-Assad from the city.
This was reported by NBC News with reference to the commander of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militant group, Hassan Abdul-Ghani, Censor.NET reports.
"We declare the city of Damascus free from the tyrant Bashar al-Assad," Abdul-Ghani wrote in a WhatsApp post.
He also addressed Syrian refugees and called on them to return to the country.
"For displaced people around the world, a free Syria is waiting for you," the post reads.
Assad's whereabouts are currently unknown, but numerous media reports claim that he has fled the country for Iran.
Abdul-Ghani also said that Assad had fled, but NBC News writes that it cannot confirm or deny the Syrian dictator's departure.
Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said he was ready to cooperate with any leadership elected by the Syrian people and take any measures to "transfer" power, the Saudi Arabian TV channel Al Arabiya reports.
"This country can be a normal country, a country that builds good relations with its neighbors and with the whole world (...), but this issue will have to be resolved by any leadership elected by the Syrian people. We are ready to cooperate with them to provide them with all possible conditions," the Prime Minister said during a Facebook stream.
He called for the preservation of "all the institutions of the Syrian state" and said he was ready to support the further management of state affairs.
At the same time, al-Jalali stressed that he did not need any positions or privileges and assured that he was in his home and did not intend to leave it.
On 28 November, after four years of relative calm, fighting between Bashar al-Assad's forces and opposition groups resumed with renewed vigor on the outskirts of Aleppo.
"Hayat Tahrir al-Sham announced a large-scale military operation against government forces. During the operation, they claimed to have captured over 400 square kilometers of territory, including strategically important areas.
On November 29, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which leads a coalition of opposition forces in Syria, entered Aleppo and clashed with government forces on the western outskirts of the city.
On November 30, the Syrian Armed Forces announced a "temporary withdrawal of troops" from Aleppo to prepare a counter-offensive against opposition forces.
According to Al Arabiya, rebels in Syria have taken control of Aleppo.
US President-elect Donald Trump has said that the US should not intervene in the developing conflict in Syria.
Bloomberg wrote that as rebels approach Damascus, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad decided to resort to indirect diplomatic appeals to the United States and President-elect Donald Trump to try to stay in power.
