Syria: Over for Assad – The government of the fugitive dictator is announcing its own end

In view of the advance of Islamist fighters into the Syrian capital Damascus, Prime Minister Mohamed al-Jalali has declared his willingness to hand over power on Sunday. He is ready to hand over the reins of government to “any leadership that determines the Syrian people” and is ready for any process for the transfer of power on Sunday morning, said al-Jalili in a video published on his Facebook profile.

According to several sources, Syria’s long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad has already fled the country. His head of government, Al-Jalali, emphasized that he himself remained in the country after Assad fled. “We are ready to hand over (power) to the elected leadership,” Al-Jalali said in a video message that he said he recorded in his home. The people must decide on this leadership. “We are ready to work even with the opposition.”

He called on citizens to cooperate with ongoing developments and not to damage public property. Syria could be a “normal state” with friendly relations with its neighbors. He himself has no interest in any political office or other privileges. “We believe that Syria belongs to all Syrians.” Jalali has only been prime minister of the Assad government for a few months. He was previously Minister of Communications.

According to leader Abu Mohammed al-Julani, the rebel alliance in Syria wants to take power peacefully. Public facilities in the capital Damascus “will remain under the supervision of the former prime minister until the official handover,” Al-Julani said on social media. Military forces are strictly prohibited from approaching these facilities and are not allowed to fire shots.

Al-Julani reposted the message on social media using his real name, Ahmed al-Sharaa. In the past few days he appeared publicly for the first time on the channels of the Islamist group Haiat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) using his real name instead of his nom de guerre.

After the “repression” under the more than five decades-long rule of the Baath Party of Syria’s ruler Bashar al-Assad, “the beginning of a new era for Syria” has now come, the Islamist fighters explained on Sunday in the online service Telegram. They called on Syrians who had fled abroad to return to a “free Syria”.

According to the state army, the reign of ruler Bashar al-Assad in Syria is over. The army command informed the government soldiers of this and thus decommissioned them, reported dpa with reference to Syrian military circles.

According to their own statements and eyewitness reports, the Islamist forces in Syria entered the capital Damascus on Sunday night. Residents in Damascus told AFP they heard heavy gunfire.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Syrian army and security forces had previously left the airport in the capital Damascus. The organization said on Sunday, citing its sources, that officers and soldiers of government forces had been ordered to withdraw from the international airport. Previously, various rebel groups from the south and north had approached the capital and encircled it.

To date, no further army troop movements have been reported. The rebels can apparently act unhindered and have captured a prison. In a statement, the rebels said: “We celebrate with the Syrian people the news of the liberation of our prisoners, the loosening of their chains and the end of the era of injustice in Sednaya prison.” The notorious military prison on the outskirts of Damascus is considered a symbol of the Repression under President Bashar al-Assad.

A dpa correspondent in Damascus reported loud explosions and heavy machine gun fire. According to eyewitnesses, soldiers from the presidential guard left the capital.

Assad left the country through Damascus international airport, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the head of the British-based organization, Rami Abdel Rahman, said Sunday morning.

According to their own statements, the rebels had previously taken complete control of the large city of Homs. This was announced by a spokesman for the rebel alliance led by the HTS. Syrian military circles said the armed forces were repositioning themselves around the city of Homs. The information could not initially be confirmed by an independent source.

Syria’s third largest city lies between Aleppo in the north and the capital Damascus in the south. It is also in a strategically important position.

Observers have already described a takeover of Homs as a likely turning point in the fighting between the rebel alliance led by the Islamist group Haiat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and government troops of President Bashar al-Assad. “Whoever wins the battle for Homs will rule Syria,” said Abdel-Rahman in an interview with dpa.

Security sources in neighboring Iraq said authorities there had allowed entry to “hundreds” of Syrian soldiers who had deserted. Several of the deserters who entered the Al-Kaim border crossing were injured.

The United Nations is withdrawing non-essential personnel from Syria. This was announced by a spokesman. However, the UN would continue to provide its services in the civil war country to support the Syrian people in this difficult situation.

Trump: “Not our fight”

US President-elect Donald Trump has commented on the current situation in Syria. Syrian President Assad does not deserve US support to stay in power, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Saturday. “This is not our fight,” he declared in all caps.

Trump condemned the US’s overall handling of the 13-year-old conflict in Syria, but expressed positive comments about the latest developments. Syrian opposition activists and regional representatives are watching to see how the US would handle the moves against the Syrian head of state, who is allied with Russia and Iran.

The surprisingly rapid advance of the insurgents is also causing increasing concern for Israel. In view of the advance of Syrian rebels, the Israeli army (IDF) is also strengthening its troops in the Golan Heights in the immediate vicinity of the border with Israel. “In accordance with the situation assessment, the IDF is calling up additional forces for defense tasks in the Golan Heights region on the Israeli-Syrian border,” the army said on Telegram. When asked, the army did not initially provide any information about the extent of the reinforcements. It was the second announcement of this kind within 24 hours.

Israel prepares for army collapse

According to media reports, the state is also preparing for a possible collapse of the Syrian army. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Israel was also preparing for the possibility of a surprise attack from the Syrian border region. The Golan Heights, a strategically important rocky plateau, were conquered by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967 and annexed in 1981. Under international law, the areas are considered Israeli-occupied territory of Syria.

On November 27th, the civil war in Syria suddenly flared up again with the offensive of the Islamist alliance Haiat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The alliance aims to overthrow the Syrian government. In addition to more than 200 villages and positions, the rebels recently took the city of Hama. According to the United Nations, at least 370,000 people have been displaced since the civil war flared up again in 2011.

Meanwhile, rebel groups also continued their advances in southern Syria. According to activists, insurgents there took control of large parts of the symbolic Daraa governorate. The army then announced a “realignment” of its forces in Daraa and Suweida on Saturday. The troops there are currently setting up a “restricted area” after “terrorist elements attacked remote army checkpoints,” the Syrian army general staff said on Saturday, according to state media.

According to its own statements, Russia’s air force, together with Syrian warplanes, destroyed rebel positions and ammunition depots in the provinces of Idlib, Hama and Aleppo. Dozens of units of military technology and 200 terrorists were “destroyed,” an air force officer told the Russian news agency Interfax. The information could not initially be independently verified.

Russia, which supports ruler Bashar al-Assad in the civil war as does Iran, has stationed warships in Syria in addition to military aircraft. Since the start of the Syrian rebel alliance’s surprising offensive, the Russian leadership has repeatedly emphasized that it will continue to stand firmly by Assad’s side.

Meanwhile, as announced, Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi took part in a meeting in Qatar on the situation in Syria with his counterparts from Russia and Turkey. Iran and Russia are important allies of Assad. Turkey shares a long land border with Syria and has hosted nearly three million Syrian refugees. Ankara has been supporting insurgents in northern Syria for years, but has recently sought rapprochement with Damascus. Araghtschi spoke of a “very open conversation” with his Turkish colleague Hakan Fidan. Russian chief diplomat Sergei Lavrov said it would be “unacceptable” for a terrorist group to control Syria.

In view of the situation in Syria, after the USA and Russia, the government of the neighboring state of Jordan has now also called on its citizens to leave the country “as quickly as possible”. Jordan had previously closed the only active border crossing with Syria. According to a report in the New York Times, Assad’s ally Iran began flying its diplomatic staff out of the country.

According to unconfirmed Israeli media reports, the Israeli government and military leadership fear that chemical weapons from the Syrian government or the materials and knowledge for their production could fall into the hands of the rebels or pro-Iranian militias. In such a case, Israel could be forced to intervene militarily as a precautionary measure, it said. When asked, the Israeli army refused to comment on reports that the air force had already bombed chemical weapons storage facilities in Syria in recent days.