The Syrian rebel forces, an alliance led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), entered the capital Damascus on Sunday morning with little resistance from President Bashar al-Assad's troops. Special rebel operatives are inside the capital and are taking up key positions in "strategic places".
"Militarily, Damascus has fallen," CNN quoted a source which added that the rebels were in Barzeh, a neighbourhood inside Damascus city. Clashes are reportedly happening in the area where rebel fighters and their vehicles were seen moving through the inner alleys of Barzeh.
Footage showed residents and rebels toppling a huge statue of Assad’s father and former president Hafez al-Assad in the city’s Jaramana suburb. There are also videos doing rounds on the internet showing Syrian army forces removing their uniforms. Many are in talks with rebel leaders to defect.
While the Syrian Defense Ministry continues to claim that their forces have withdrawn from Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the army withdrew from positions in the Damascus countryside roughly 10 kilometres from the capital.
The rebels are also freeing detainees from Sednaya prison, a notorious detention facility near Damascus. It is said that the Assad regime puts its opponents inside Sednaya, which many refer to as a human slaughterhouse.
Hours earlier, the rebels claimed they "fully liberated" the major city of Homs, north of the capital. Rebel commander Hassan Abdel Ghani claimed on Saturday that their forces had begun the final phase of encircling the capital, Damascus. The rebels had also liberated four Syrian cities, Daraa, Quneitra, Suwayda and Homs, within 24 hours.
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Where is President Assad?
The US and the West are expecting the Assad regime to fall in days. As of Sunday morning, there is no hint of a functioning government. The spy units entered Damascus overnight searching for President Bashar al-Assad but were unable to find him. Speculations are rife that the President has fled the capital.
However, Assad's Office called the rumours "false news" and said the President is still in the capital "following up on his work and national and constitutional duties".
Hezbollah too is pulling its forces from Damascus and Homs, instructing its fighters to head to Latakia (in Syria) and others to the Hermel area in Lebanon. "Hezbollah fighters have also vacated their positions around Damascus," a source told AFP.
