Hours after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled the country following the invasion of Damascus by rebels, he is now in Moscow, Russia, BBC is reporting.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the armed opposition comprising different rebel groups gained major cities including Aleppo, Hama and Homs. The coalition of rebel groups led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an Islamist group linked to al-Qaeda, began its latest offensive against Syrian government forces about seven days ago.
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The brazen offensive, first launched from HTS stronghold Idlib, pushed back government forces who, according to reports, withdrew from their standpoints and surrendered their weapons.
Earlier, HTS leader who was a former commander of al-Qaeda, Abu Mohammed al-Julani, said state institutions would remain under the supervision of Mr al-Assad’s prime minister, Mohammad al-Jalali, until formal handing over.
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Al-Assad in Russia, granted asylum
Citing reports by Russian news media, BBC reports that Mr al-Assad and his family have been granted asylum by Russia. Moscow has been instrumental to the deposed president’s sway on power after it sent troops to Syria in 2015.
In return for military assistance, the Syrian authorities awarded Russia 49-year leases on the air base in Hmeimim and its naval base in Tartus. Russia secured an important foothold in the Eastern Mediterranean, and the bases became hubs for transferring military contractors in and out of Africa.
Al Jazeera reports that Mr al-Assad could have been evacuated by a Russian plane from a Russian air base in Latakia, one of Mr al-Assad’s coastal governorate strongholds.
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BBC Russia editor Steve Rosenberg writes that the deployment of troops to Damascus in 2015 was one of Russia’s key objectives to assert itself as a global power.
“It was Vladimir Putin’s first major challenge to the power and dominance of the West, away from the former Soviet space. And a successful one, too, so it seemed,” he said.
Mr al-Assad’s exit is thus a big blow to its backers including Russia, Iran and Iran-backed Lebanese militia, Hezbollah.
Given Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and Iran’s internal struggles and conflict with Israel, Mr al-Assad was left to rule his country as the rebels waged war to end his regime.
Although Iran’s embassy in Syria was reportedly besieged and vandalised by the rebels, Russian officials are said to be in contact with representatives of the Syrian rebels. Moscow wants assurance from the rebels that its bases in Latakia and Tartus, as well as Russian diplomatic missions in Syria, will be secured.
The fall of the deposed president has been celebrated by some leaders in the West and Middle East.
US President Joe Biden expressed relief that Mr al-Assad’s rule has come to an end.
“The fall of the regime is a fundamental act of justice,” Mr Biden said. “It’s a moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria to build a better future for their proud country.”
US President-elect Donald Trump shared similar thoughts but warned that the US should not get involved in the crisis.
Al-Julani eyeing the power seat
A few hours after his foot soldiers took over Damascus, Mr al-Julani arrived in the city and observed a sujud (prostration) in an open field, as seen in a video shared by a jihadi expert, Aaron Zelin.
Mr Al-Julani later addressed a crowd in a Syrian mosque in a fashion that presented him as a new leader of the country. Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi wrote that there were two things “very significant” in the speech delivered by the HTS leader.
Mr al-Julani’s speech spread hope for Syrians as he said “a Syria for all Syrians should be something people focus on.”
READ ALSO: UPDATED: Syrian opposition overthrows President Bashar al-Assad
Denouncing Iran and its role in Syria, the HTS leader said the country would no longer be influenced by Iran. In his recent interview with CNN, Mr al-Julani also berated Russia, saying it tried to “prop up” Mr al-Assad’s regime, which he described as already “dead.”
Mr Zelin, the jihadi expert, in an X post, shared the rebels’ statement warning that incursion into private and public property in Damascus by anyone would not be tolerated.
However, analysts are concerned about what comes next after the toppling of Mr al-Assad’s government.
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