There were scenes of celebration in the streets of Damascus on Sunday after rebels took control of the capital and forced Bashar Al Assad flee to an unknown destination. As the main opposition party announced that Damascus is now “without Bashar al-Assad”, people thronged to the streets to celebrate the fall of the regime.
Opening a new chapter in the 13-year-long civil war, the rebel forces early Sunday morning announced breaching the capital, forcing out president Assad and many of his loyalists.
Many in Damascus and elsewhere in Syria residents poured onto the streets dancing and chanting slogans like “freedom”, “its over”, “Assad is gone,” and “Long live Syria and down with Bashar al-Assad”. Rebels reportedly fired into the air in celebration, and youths tore down posters of the Syrian president, whose territorial control has collapsed in a week-long retreat by the military.
People also gathered to celebrate in the central squares of Damascus, chanting anti-Assad slogans and honking car horns. They also cheered as they trampled on a toppled statue of President Bashar al-Assad’s father.
“My feelings are indescribable,” Omar Daher, a 29-year-old lawyer was quoted as saying by news agency AP.
“After the fear that he (Assad) and his father made us live in for many years, and the panic and state of terror that I was living in, I can’t believe it.” Daher said his father had been killed by security forces and his brother was in detention, his fate unknown. Assad “is a criminal, a tyrant and a dog,” he said.
“Damn his soul and the soul of the entire Assad family,” said Ghazal al-Sharif. “It is the prayer of every oppressed person and God answered it today”.
Earlier, in what was seen as a signal that the capital was within reach, rebels took control of the strategic Syrian city of Homs. The fall of Homs became a powerful symbol of the rebel movement’s dramatic comeback in the 13-year-long conflict. Large parts of Homs were destroyed by the gruelling siege warfare between the rebels and the army years ago.
On Wednesday, similar scenes of jubilation unfolded after rebels took control of Syria’s fourth-largest city, Hama. A huge statue of Syria’s former dictator Hafez al-Assad, the father of current President Bashar al-Assad, was toppled as crowds cheered loudly and fired celebratory gunfire into the air.
Read also: Rebels bring down statue of Assad’s father in rebel-controlled Hama
A witness, quoted by AFP, described seeing “dozens of protesters” destroying the monument, which had long stood as a symbol of the Assad family’s rule.
The fall of Hama marked a significant milestone in the rebels’ offensive, which has seen them capture major cities, including Aleppo, and advance rapidly across the country. Just days ago, a statue of Bashar al-Assad’s late brother, Bassel, was similarly destroyed in Aleppo.
However, Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi Jalali, in a speech published on Facebook shortly after the rebels claimed to have entered Damascus, said he was ready to “cooperate” with any leadership chosen by the people. He also urged citizens to refrain from vandalizing public facilities.
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