President Bashar al-Assad landed in Russia, according to state media outlets there and two Iranian officials, after fleeing the country as rebels took control of Syria’s capital.
President Bashar al-Assad of Syria arrived in Russia on Sunday evening after fleeing his country, according to Russian state media and two Iranian officials. It was a stunning fall for the longtime dictator who lost his hold on power to a lightning fast offensive by rebels who took control of Damascus on Sunday.
Mr. al-Assad’s ouster was an earthshaking moment in the history of Syria, which the al-Assad family had ruled with an iron fist since the early 1970s. Rebel factions that have been trying to unseat him for more than a decade upended his government in a matter of days, after years of civil war.
Many in Syria greeted Mr. al-Assad’s fall with hope after long living in fear of a government that had gassed its own people during the civil war and used oppressive tactics to silence dissent. But deep uncertainty over who will rule Syria next raised worries of a possible power vacuum in a country where competing factions have vied for territory against each other and Mr. al-Assad’s forces.
“Our hearts are dancing with joy,” Walaa Salameh, 35, a resident of the Damascus area, said in a phone interview. “We can’t predict the future and anything is possible, but the most important thing is we got rid of this oppressive regime.”
Russian state media said that Mr. al-Assad and his family had arrived in Moscow and been granted political asylum. The New York Times could not immediately independently confirm that Mr. al-Assad was in Russia, which along with Iran had helped keep him in power.
On Sunday, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the Islamist rebel leader who spearheaded the rebel offensive, declared the group’s achievement “a victory for the whole Islamic nation,” speaking from the Umayyad Mosque, an ancient landmark in Damascus, the capital. His group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, once linked to Al Qaeda, has tried to gain international legitimacy by eschewing jihadist ambitions and focusing on organized governance.
President Biden, speaking from the White House, said that the United States would support the region “should any threat arrive from Syria during this period of transition,” noting the terrorist roots of many of the rebels. But he underlined that Washington would engage with “all Syrian groups” to establish a transition “toward an independent, sovereign Syria.”
Here’s what else is happening:
Targeting the Islamic State: U.S. airstrikes struck dozens of Islamic State camps and leaders in central Syria on Sunday in one of the largest military strikes in months, the United States Central Command said in a statement, adding that 75 “targets” had been hit. The statement said that the United States would continue to target the terrorist group throughout the “dynamic period in Syria.” A senior U.S. military official said the strikes were intended to make clear the United States was still combating the group and dissuade the new regime from cooperating with them.
Syria transition: As questions swirled early on Sunday over Mr. al-Assad’s whereabouts, Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali, Syria’s prime minister, said that he would stay in the country and was ready to work with whomever Syrians choose as their leader. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham said it would work with Mr. al-Jalali and called on Syrian military forces in Damascus to stay away from public institutions, which it said would remain under the prime minister’s supervision until they are formally handed over.
Missing American: Mr. Biden and the family of Austin Tice, an American journalist who disappeared in Syria in 2012, said on Sunday that they believe that he is alive and could be returned to the United States after rebels groups toppled Mr. al-Assad. “We think we can get him back, but we have no direct evidence of that yet,” Mr. Biden said. The United States has said it believed Mr. Tice had been held captive by the government of Mr. al-Assad, although his regime had long maintained that it had no information about him.
Assad’s allies: Mr. al-Assad had kept rebel forces at bay for more than a decade with Iranian and Russian military support. But in recent days, Iran and Russia appeared to be turning to diplomacy to preserve their interests in the country rather than significant military support. The Foreign Ministry of Iran said decision-making about the future of Syria was “solely the responsibility” of Syrians.
Russia requested an emergency closed consultation of the U.N. Security Council to discuss Syria’s fall and the repercussions for security in the region, according to Council diplomats.
Broader instability: Israel’s military said it had entered a demilitarized buffer zone in territory it controls in the Golan Heights, abutting Syria. The Israeli military, which is concerned about the sudden surge in instability near its borders, said it was acting to protect Israeli civilians. Iraq has secured its border with Syria, according to the official Iraqi News Agency, which said on Sunday that the Al-Qaim border crossing was closed.
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