Syria’s military says Assad’s rule is over as president flees nation and rebels take Damascus: Live updates

Syria’s army command has notified officers that al-Assad’s 24-year authoritarian rule has ended.

Rebel forces have said Syria is now ‘free’ and that the ‘tyrant’ President Bashar al-Assad has fled.

The HTS (Hayyet Tahrir al-Sham) said on Telegram that it was the end of a dark era and the beginning of a new one.

The rebels said that people displaced or imprisoned under the half-century reign of Assad can now come home.

HTS said it will be a ‘new Syria’ where ‘everyone lives in peace and justice prevails’.

The Syrian Administration of Political Affairs, an arm of the opposition, has said in a statement that they will work for all Syrians.

They said: ‘The liberation of Syria is a victory for all of its children who have sacrificed for the unity of its land and people.

‘In this occasion, we assert our commitment to strengthening social unity and confirming the principles of justice and dignity for all the components of Syrian society.’

Israeli tanks have reportedly crossed the Syrian-Israeli border as part of prior plans to ensure a safe zone between the border of the nations.

Political anaylst Eva Koulouriotis posted on X that a security source had confirmed the ground offense to her.

The Israeli Air Force has reportedly carried out attacks against weapons depots, chemical weapons stores and laboratories near Damascus.

According to political anaylst Eva Koulouriotis, a security source confirmed to her that the facilites were hit.

HTS, the group leading the rebel offensive in Syria, is a powerful Islamist organisation that has maintained de facto control of Idlib for several years.

The group, led by Abu Mohammad al-Julani, solidified in 2017 as a conglomeration of various Islamist factions but traces its roots to al-Qaeda.

HTS’ core component arose from a group once known as Jabhat al-Nusra – al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch – but later sought to reposition itself as a legitimate Syrian nationalist organisation.

It officially severed ties with al-Qaeda and created a civilian arm known as the ‘Salvation Government’ through which it seeks to govern in Syria, insisting it has no ambition to expand beyond the nation’s borders.

Initial reports from civilians in Aleppo have appeared to suggest that HTS militants have treated inhabitants well after ousting Syrian government forces.

But there are suspicions that HTS’ jihadist origins remain and it is still designated a terrorist organisation by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), US, UK and the EU, among others.

National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said in a statement that President Biden was keeping an eye on the situation.

He said: ‘President Biden and his team are closely monitoring the extraordinary events in Syria and staying in constant touch with regional partners.’

The rebels said in a statement that they had liberated those being kept inside the notorious Saydnaya Military Prison.

The military prison near Damascus dubbed the ‘industrial torture chamber ‘ has reportedly seen between 5,000 to 13,000 inmates hanged since 2011, according to AlJazeera.

Amnesty International research said the Syrian authorities had committed crimes against humanity with thousands of inmates in the prison 30km north of Damascus being murdered, tortured, and exterminated.

They determined that the violations committed at the brutal facilities over the last decade under dictator’s Bashar al Assad regime, which has seen over 10,000 political detainees vanish, was part of an attack against civilians.

The rebels said in a statement on their Telegram channel that hundreds of Assad forces have given themselves up to rebels in Deir al-Zour, a city in eastern Syria.

Images inside Damascus airport early on Sunday morning local time shows dozens of people passing through security checkpoints and running to departure gates.

It appears that the airport is largely unstaffed and flight monitoring websites also showed no departures scheduled.

Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali has said he does not plan on leaving his home in teh capital to ensure that public institutions continue to function.

He said: ‘I urge all to think rationally and to think about the country. We extend our hand to the opposition who have extended their hand and asserted that they will not harm anyone who belongs to this country.’

Ghazi added that he was ready to cooperate with whoever Syrians choose to lead the nation in a recording heard by The New York Times.

Video footage shared online and verified by Al Jazeera show several people in Ummayad Square standing on an abandoned military tank.

The group are singing in celebration as rebels swarmed the capital in the early hours of Sunday morning, local time.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad flew out of Damascus for an unknown destination on Sunday, two senior army officers told Reuters.

A Syrian Air plane took off from Damascus airport around the time the capital was reported to have been taken by rebels, according to data from the Flightradar website.

The aircraft initially flew towards Syria’s coastal region, a stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect, but then made an abrupt U-turn and flew in the opposite direction for a few minutes before disappearing off the map.

It remains unclear exactly who was on board the flight.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad listens to a question during an exclusive interview with AFP in the capital Damascus on February 11, 2016

DailyMail.com will be providing live updates this evening as rebel fighters in Syria enter the capital of Damascus.

The move takes them to the brink of a victory as Syrian forces and their leader, President Bashar al-Assad appear to flee the crumbling capital.

On Saturday evening local time, opposition forces took the central city of Homs, Syria‘s third largest, as government forces abandoned it.

The city stands at an important intersection between Damascus, the capital, and Syria’s coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus – the Syrian leader´s base of support and home to a Russian strategic naval base.

The rebels had already seized the cities of Aleppo and Hama, as well as large parts of the south in a lightning offensive that began on November 27.