The Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad has fallen, bringing a stunning end to his family’s 50-year reign following a lightning offensive by Islamist rebels.
A plane carrying Assad left Damascus on Sunday morning as rebel fighters entered the capital, and two officials told Reuters he had fled the country.
The prime minister, Mohammed Ghazi Jalali, said he would meet with the rebels, adding that the government was ready to “extend its hand” to the opposition and hand over its functions to a transitional government.
The Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the largest and best-organised of the rebel outfits, said on Telegram that Syria was “free” from the “tyrant” Assad. It will be a “new Syria” where “everyone lives in peace and justice prevails”, HTS said.
There are celebrations in the centre of Damascus, with thousands gathering on foot in the main square of the capital and chanting “freedom”.
The UN’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, called on Saturday for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an “orderly political transition”. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, whose country is Mr Assad’s chief international backer, said he feels “sorry for the Syrian people”.
