Cheers and gunfire as Syrians celebrate the end of the Assad family’s century-long rule – National

Syrians took to the streets in loud cheers on Sunday after rebels stormed the capital, ending 50 years of rule by the Assad family but raising questions about the future of the country and the wider region.

Jubilant crowds gathered in central squares in Damascus, waving the Syrian flag in scenes that commemorated the early days of the Arab Spring uprisings, before brutal violence and the outbreak of insurgency plunged the country into a nearly 14-year civil war.

Others happily ransacked the presidential palace and the Assad family home after President Bashar Assad and other top officials disappeared to unknown whereabouts. Russia, a close ally, said Assad had backed down after talks with rebel groups and gave instructions for a peaceful transfer of power.

Abu Mohammed al-Golani, a former al-Qaida commander who severed ties with the group years ago and says he supports racism and religious tolerance, leads the largest rebel group and is poised to dictate the country’s future.

The end of Assad’s rule is a major concern for Iran and its allies, already weakened by more than a year of conflict with Israel. Iran, which has been a major supporter of Assad during the civil war, said Syrians should decide on the future of their country “without destruction, force, and foreign intervention.”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Israeli army has occupied a protected area in the Golan Heights since 1974, after the Syrian army left its positions in the last beds.

The rebels now face the difficult task of bridging the bitter divide in a country ravaged by war and still divided between armed groups. Turkish-backed opposition forces are fighting US-allied Kurdish forces in the north, while the Islamic State group is still active in remote areas.

Syrian state television broadcast a video statement early Sunday morning by a rebel group saying that Assad had been deposed and all prisoners had been freed. They called on people to preserve the institutions of a “free Syrian state.” The rebels later announced a curfew in Damascus from 4 pm to 5 am

Rebels say they have freed people held in the notorious Saydnaya prison, where rights groups say thousands were tortured and killed. A video circulating online purportedly shows rebels opening cell doors and freeing scores of female prisoners, many of whom appeared stunned and confused. At least a small child could be seen among them.

Rebel commander Anas Salkhadi, who appeared on State TV later in the day, tried to affirm Syria’s religion and ethnic groups, saying: “Syria belongs to everyone, there is no exception. Syria belongs to the Druze, the Sunnis, the Alawites and all the sects.”

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“We will not deal with the people the way the Assad family is doing,” he added.

Festivals across the capital

Residents of Damascus gathered to pray for Muslims and celebrate in the squares, crying “God is great.” People also chanted anti-Assad slogans and honked car horns. The little boys picked up weapons that had apparently been thrown away by the guards and shot them in the air.

Bargains fill Umayyad Square in the center of the city, where the Ministry of Defense is located. The men fired ceremonial rifles into the air while others waved the three-star Syrian flag that predates the Assad government and is adopted by rebels.

“I can’t express my happiness,” said Bassam Masr. “But this joy will not end until I see my son out of prison and know where he is. I have been looking for him for two hours. He has been in prison for 13 years.”

Soldiers and policemen left their posts and fled, and looters broke into the Ministry of Defense. Videos from Damascus showed families streaming into the presidential palace, some carrying stacks of plates and other household items.

The Syrian newspaper al-Watan, which historically supported the government, wrote: “We are looking at a new page for Syria.” We thank God for not shedding more blood. We believe and hope that Syria will belong to all Syrians.”

The newspaper added that media workers should not be blamed for publishing government statements in the past, saying: “We only carried out the instructions and published the news they sent us.”

A statement from the Alawite sect – to which Assad belongs and which has become the center of his base – called on young Syrians to be “calm, wise and intelligent and not to be drawn into what divides the unity of our country.”

The rebels mainly come from Syria’s Sunni Muslim majority, which also has large Druze, Christian and Kurdish communities.

Assad’s whereabouts are unknown

The Prime Minister of Syria, Mohammed Ghazi Jalali, in a video statement said that the government is ready to “extend its hand” to the opposition and turn over its duties to the transitional government. A video shared by opposition media in Syria shows a group of armed men escorting him out of his office towards the Four Seasons hotel on Sunday.

Rami Abdurrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told The Associated Press that Assad took a flight on Sunday from Damascus.

A United Arab Emirates embassy official, who has sought to repair Assad’s image and has welcomed high-profile exiles in recent years, declined to comment on his whereabouts when asked by reporters at a conference in Bahrain.

Anwar Gargash said that Assad’s destination at this point is “a footnote in history,” comparing it to the long exile of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany after World War I.

Assad is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war, including a 2013 chemical weapons attack on the outskirts of the capital.

There was no immediate comment from Iran, which has been a staunch supporter of Assad. The Iranian Embassy in Damascus was looted after it was abandoned.

It requires systematic change

The progress of the rebels since 27 Nov. has been the largest in recent years, and saw the cities of Aleppo, Hama and Homs fall in a matter of days as the Syrian army dissolved. Russia, Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, which provided key support to Assad during the uprising, have abandoned him in recent days as they move away from other conflicts.

The rebels are led by the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which has origins in al-Qaida and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the United Nations.

Its leader, al-Golani, wants to dismiss this group as a moderate and tolerant force. HTS established a “salvation government” in 2017 to administer a large region of northwestern Syria under its control.

“Golani made history and inspired hope for millions of Syrians,” said Dareen Khalifa, senior adviser to the International Crisis Group and an expert on Syrian groups. But he and the rebels now face a major challenge. One can only hope they rise to the occasion. “

The UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, called Saturday for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure “an orderly political transition.”

The Gulf state of Qatar, a key regional mediator, held an emergency meeting of foreign ministers and senior officials from eight countries with an interest in Syria late Saturday. Participants include Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Turkey.

Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters that they agreed on the need to “communicate with all stakeholders on the ground,” including HTS, and that the main concern was “stability and a safe transition.”

Netanyahu said the 1974 agreement that separated Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights had “broken down,” that Syrian troops had abandoned their positions, and that Israel had taken up defensive positions to protect itself.

The military said the deployment was meant to provide security for residents of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israel captured the area in the 1967 Mideast war and the international community, except the United States, sees it as occupied.