The Syrian insurgents, who just eleven days ago began an offensive against the government of Syriaannounced their entry into Damascus in the early hours of this Sunday, and declared the city “free” from Bashar al Assad, amid reports that the president had left the country on a “special” plane with no known destination. The Military Operations Command of the coalition of Islamist and pro-Turkish groups that is leading the insurgent offensive, sent a statement stating that Damascus, one of the oldest cities in the world, is “free from the tyrant Bashar al Assad,” while the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights assures that the Syrian president left the city airport.
In addition, the NGO based in the United Kingdom and an important network of collaborators on the ground, indicated that “Officers of the regime’s security forces withdrew from Damascus International Airport after the takeoff of a private plane that was probably carrying Bashar al Assad”.
At the moment There is no communication from the government loyal to Al Assad.
“This is the moment that the displaced and the prisoners have waited for a long time, the moment of returning home and the moment of freedom after decades of oppression and suffering,” the Islamist alliance added in a note.
Meanwhile, EFE sources in Damascus They reported the seizure of the main Syrian radio and television building by unidentified armed men, who ordered them to leave the facilities, while thousands of people gather in the Umayyad Square, one of the nerve centers of the city, where, in addition to television, the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense and the Army are located.
The Islamists also confirmed the seizure of the Saydnaya military prison, located about 30 kilometers north of Syria and one of the centers of repression of the Syrian regime. Bashar al Assad, and the release of its prisoners.
A few hours earlier, the rebels led by the Levant Liberation Organization (Hayat Tahrir al Sham or HTS, in Arabic), heir to the Syrian affiliate of Al Qaeda, They announced the total capture of the city of Homslocated about 160 kilometers north of Damascusan assertion that was denied at the time by the Army loyal to Damascus.
Nevertheless, The Al Jazeera network reported celebrations in the streets of Homs, where hundreds of people gathered at the emblematic “clock roundabout” in the center of the city, demanding the fall of the Syrian president.
This place, loaded with symbolism, It was the scene of a massacre in April 2011, at the beginning of the conflict, when at least 18 protesters were shot dead by security forces.
The insurgent offensive began on November 27 and in a few days it has collapsed the defenses of the Damascus government, first taking Aleppo, the country’s second city, and then Hama.
In the last two days, while troops from HTS assaulted Homsnorth of Damascusthree provincial capitals in the south of the country, rebelled and were left in the hands of local factions of the insurgents, amid announcements of “withdrawals” by the official military forces.