DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The Syrians took to the streets this Sunday amid celebratory gunfire after a rebel advance reached the capital, ending the 50 years of tight rule by the Assad family. Crowds gathered in central squares of Damascus, waving the Syrian revolutionary flag in scenes reminiscent of the early days of the Arab Spring, before a brutal crackdown and the rise of an insurgency that plunged the country into a civil war lasting over a decade.
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Others looted the presidential palace and the Assad family residence after President Bashar Assad and other high-ranking officials disappeared, with their whereabouts unknown.
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Russia, a close ally, said that Assad left the country after negotiations with rebel groups and had given instructions to transfer power peacefully.
Abu Mohammed Al Golani, a former Al Qaeda commander who broke ties with the group years ago and claims to embrace pluralism and religious tolerance, leads the largest rebel faction and was poised to shape the country's future direction.
The end of Assad's government represents a significant blow to Iran and its allies, already weakened by over a year of conflict with Israel. The rebels now face the daunting task of healing the deep divisions in a country devastated by war and still divided among different armed factions.
The Syrian state television aired a video statement early Sunday morning of a group of rebels saying that Assad had been overthrown and that all prisoners had been released. The man who read the statement called on rebel fighters and citizens to preserve the institutions of the "Free Syrian State."
The rebel commander Anas Salkhadi, who appeared on the channel later on Sunday, tried to reassure Syria's religious and ethnic minorities, saying: "Syria is for everyone, without exceptions. Syria is for Druze, Sunnis, Alawites, and all religions."
"We will not treat people as the Assad family did," he added.
Celebrations erupt in the capital
At dawn in Damascus, many people gathered to pray in the city's mosques and celebrate in the squares, singing "God is great". The crowd also chanted slogans against Assad and honked car horns.
Several teenagers picked up weapons apparently abandoned by security forces and fired them into the air.
A crowd filled the Umayyad Square in the city center, where the Ministry of Defense is located. Several men fired shots into the air in celebration and some waved the Syrian flag with three stars, which predates the Assad government and was adopted by the revolutionaries.
Soldiers and police officers abandoned their posts and fled, and looters broke into the Ministry of Defense. Videos from Damascus showed families entering the presidential palace, some of whom were seen leaving carrying stacks of dishes and other household items.
"I didn't sleep last night, and I refused to sleep until I heard the news of his downfall," said Mohammed Amer Al-Oulabi, 44, who works in the electrical sector. "From Idlib to Damascus, it only took them (the opposition forces) a few days, thank God. God bless them, the heroic lions who made us proud."
The Syrian newspaper al-Watan, traditionally aligned with the government, wrote: "We are facing a new page for Syria. We thank God for not shedding more blood. We believe and trust that Syria will be for all Syrians."
The newspaper added that media workers should not be blamed for publishing government statements in the past.
"We simply followed the instructions and published the news that was sent to us," he said. "It quickly became clear that it was false."
A statement from the Alawite community - to which Assad belongs and which has been the core of his support base - called on young Syrians to be "calm, rational, and prudent and not to be dragged into what tears apart the unity of our country."
Assad’s whereabouts are unknown
The Syrian Prime Minister, Mohammed Ghazi Jalali, said in a video statement that the government was ready to "extend a hand" to the opposition and transfer its functions to a transitional government.
A video shared on Syrian opposition media showed a group of armed men escorting him out of his office and towards the Four Seasons hotel on Sunday.
Rami Abdurrahman, from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told The Associated Press that Assad took a flight on Sunday from Damascus.
A high-level diplomat from the United Arab Emirates, who had tried to rehabilitate Assad's image and has hosted high-level exiles in recent years, declined to comment on his whereabouts when asked by journalists at a conference in Bahrain.
Anwar Gargash said that wherever Assad is heading at this moment is a "footnote in history" compared to the long exile of the German emperor Wilhelm II after World War I.
Assad has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the conflict, including a chemical weapons attack in 2013 on the outskirts of the capital.
At first, there were no comments from Iran, which has been the strongest supporter of Assad. The Iranian embassy in Damascus was looted after apparently being abandoned. AP images showed broken windows and scattered documents in the lobby.
Opposition forces had not reached Damascus since 2018, when Syrian troops recaptured areas on the outskirts of the capital after a years-long siege.
Requests for orderly transition amid uncertainty
The rebel advances since November 27 were the largest in recent years and saw the cities of Aleppo, Hama, and Homs fall within days as the Syrian Army crumbled. Russia, Iran, and the Lebanese political and military group Hezbollah, who have provided crucial support to Assad during the conflict, abandoned him in recent days, preoccupied by other conflicts.
The rebels are led by the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which originated from Al Qaeda and is considered a terrorist group by the United States and the United Nations.
Its leader, Al Golani, is trying to reform the group's image and claims to be committed to a Syria that serves all its citizens, including the numerous ethnic and religious minorities. HTS established a "salvation government" in 2017 to administer a large part of northwestern Syria under its control.
"Golani has made history and ignited hope among millions of Syrians," said Dareen Khalifa, senior advisor at the International Crisis Group and expert on Syrian groups. "But he and the rebels now face a formidable challenge ahead. It can only be hoped that they rise to the occasion."
Qatar, a key mediator in the region, held an urgent meeting on Saturday night with foreign ministers and senior officials from eight countries with interests in Syria. Participants included Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Turkey.
Majed bin Mohammed al-Ansari, spokesperson for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told journalists that they had agreed on the need “to involve all parties on the ground,” including HTS, and that the main concern was “stability and a safe transition.”