Syrian insurgents said early Sunday they had entered Damascus, capping a stunning advance across the country, as residents of the capital reported sounds of gunfire and explosions.
There was no immediate official statement from the Syrian government. The pro-government Sham FM radio reported that the Damascus airport was evacuated and all flights halted.
The insurgents also announced they had entered the notorious Saydnaya military prison north of the capital and “liberated our prisoners” there.
The night before, opposition forces had taken the central city of Homs, Syria’s third largest, as government forces abandoned it. The government denied rumours that President Bashar al-Assad had fled the country.
More to come
This is a breaking update. A previous version of this story can be seen below.
The latest:
- Thousands rush to Syria’s border with Lebanon.
- Rebels say they’re in ‘final stage’ of encircling Damascus.
- UN envoy to Syria calls for ‘orderly political transition.’
- Officials from Iran, Russia and Turkey meet in Qatar.
Insurgents’ stunning march across Syria accelerated on Saturday with news that they had reached the gates of the capital and that government forces had abandoned the central city of Homs. The government was forced to deny rumours that President Bashar al-Assad had fled the country.
The loss of Homs is a potentially crippling blow for Assad. It stands at an important intersection between Damascus 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 pro-government Sham FM reported that government forces took positions outside Syria’s third-largest city, without elaborating. Rami Abdurrahman who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Syrian troops and members of different security agencies have withdrawn from the city, adding that rebels have entered parts of it.
The capture of Homs is a major victory for insurgents, who have already seized the cities of Aleppo and Hama, as well as large parts of the south, in a lightning offensive that began Nov. 27. Analysts said Homs falling into rebel hands would be a game-changer.
For the first time in the country’s long-running civil war, the government now has control of only three of 14 provincial capitals: Damascus, Latakia and Tartus.
The advances in the past week were among the largest in recent years by opposition factions, led by a group that has its origins in al-Qaeda and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the United Nations. As they have advanced, the insurgents — led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS — have met little resistance from the Syrian army.
The rapid rebel gains, coupled with the lack of support from Assad’s erstwhile allies, posed the most serious threat to his rule since the start of the war.
The UN’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, on Saturday called for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an “orderly political transition.” Speaking to reporters at the annual Doha Forum in Qatar, he said the situation in Syria was changing by the minute.
Rebels at the gates of Damascus
The rebels’ moves around Damascus, reported by an opposition war monitor and a rebel commander, came after the Syrian army withdrew from much of the southern part of the country — leaving more areas, including two provincial capitals, under the control of opposition fighters.
In Damascus, people rushed to stock up on supplies. Thousands rushed the Syria border with Lebanon, trying to leave the country.
Syrian rebels pressed their advance on the capital city of Damascus on Saturday, saying they had seized most of the country’s south.
Many shops in the capital were shuttered, a resident told The Associated Press, and those that remained open ran out of staples such as sugar. Some shops were selling items at three times the normal price.
“The situation is very strange. We are not used to that,” the resident said, insisting on anonymity, fearing retribution.
“People are worried whether there will be a battle [in Damascus] or not.”
It was the first time that opposition forces reached the outskirts of Damascus since 2018, when Syrian troops recaptured the area following a years-long siege.
Assad has not fled, state media report
Syria’s state media denied rumours flooding social media that Assad has left the country, saying he is performing his duties in Damascus.
He has had little, if any, help from his allies. Russia is busy with its war in Ukraine. Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which at one point sent thousands of fighters to shore up Assad’s forces, has been weakened by a year-long conflict with Israel. Iran has seen its proxies across the region degraded by regular Israeli airstrikes.
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on Saturday posted on social media that the U.S. should avoid engaging militarily in Syria.
Pedersen said a date for the talks in Geneva on the implementation of UN Resolution 2254 would be announced later. The resolution, adopted in 2015, called for a Syrian-led political process, starting with the establishment of a transitional governing body, followed by the drafting of a new constitution and ending with UN-supervised elections.
Later Saturday, foreign ministers and senior diplomats from eight key countries — including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Egypt, Turkey and Iran — along with Pedersen, gathered on the sidelines of the Doha summit to discuss the situation in Syria.
In a statement issued late Saturday, the participants affirmed their support for a political solution to the Syrian crisis “that would lead to the end of military activity and protect civilians.” They also agreed on the importance of strengthening international efforts to increase aid to the Syrian people.
The insurgents’ march
Abdurrahman, of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said insurgents were in the Damascus suburbs of Maadamiyah, Jaramana and Daraya. Opposition fighters were also marching from eastern Syria toward the Damascus suburb of Harasta, he said.
A commander with the insurgents, Hassan Abdul-Ghani, posted on the Telegram messaging service that opposition forces had begun the “final stage” of their offensive by encircling Damascus.
HTS controls much of northwest Syria, and in 2017 it set up a “salvation government” to run day-to-day affairs in the region. In recent years, HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani has sought to remake the group’s image, cutting ties with al-Qaeda, ditching hard-line officials and vowing to embrace pluralism and religious tolerance.
The civil war in Syria has reignited after years of lying dormant, with a coalition of opposition forces swiftly taking control of a number of major cities. CBC’s Chris Brown breaks down how the situation unravelled and the key players fighting for control.
The shock offensive began Nov. 27, during which gunmen captured the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest, and the central city of Hama, the country’s fourth-largest city.
Opposition activists said on Saturday that a day earlier, insurgents entered Palmyra, which is home to invaluable archeological sites that had been in government hands since being taken from the Islamic militant group ISIS in 2017.
To the south, Syrian troops left much of the province of Quneitra, including the main Baath City, activists said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government troops have withdrawn from much of the two southern provinces.
The Syrian army said in a statement on Saturday that it has carried out redeployment and repositioning in Sweida and Daraa after its checkpoints came under attack by “terrorists.” The army said it is setting up a “strong and coherent defensive and security belt in the area,” apparently to defend Damascus from the south.
The Syrian government has referred to opposition gunmen as terrorists since the conflict broke out in March 2011.
