New Delhi: A day after Syria’s army command announced that president Bashar al-Assad’s rule has ended following a two-day rebel offensive and announced that the country is “now free of Assad,” the deposed ruler appears to have reached Moscow, where he has found asylum for himself and his family.
In various places, including at the Moscow embassy for Syria, the rebel’s flag is being unfurled as the national flag.
Russia has granted the Assad family asylum on “humanitarian grounds”, several news agencies including Interfax, TASS and Ria Novosti reported quoting a source at the Kremlin.
Along with Russia, Iran, the US, and Turkey have been crucial players throughout Syria’s civil war.
Experts have noted how the recent opposition offensive came as Assad’s three key allies — Russia, Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah — were stretched thin with Russia’s focus on Ukraine, Iran’s setbacks from Israeli strikes, and Hezbollah’s hesitance to commit additional fighters.
In development that is being widely called “earth shaking,” Syrian rebels led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham have also opened the doors of the regime’s infamous prisons, including the Saydnaya. An estimated 100,000 people had been held there – most without trial – in the course of the 14-year civil war.
Social media is full of videos showing men rushing out of the prison. The Guardian reported how verified videos from Damascus showed dozens of women and small children being held in cells, the rebels opening the doors telling them not to be afraid.
The Indian external affairs ministry has said its embassy in Damascus is in contact with the Indian community.
“We are monitoring the situation in Syria in the light of on-going developments. We underline the need for all parties to work towards preserving the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria. We advocate a peaceful and inclusive Syrian-led political process respecting the interests and aspirations of all sections of Syrian society.”
US military reports multiple strikes on ‘ISIS camps and operatives’
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) responsible for West Asia and other areas said its forces conducted “dozens of precision airstrikes targeting known ISIS camps and operatives in central Syria” on Sunday, DW reported.
CENTCOM claimed this was also “to ensure that ISIS does not seek to take advantage of the current situation to reconstitute in central Syria.”
War monitors report continued fighting for control of the region and city of Manbij, as Turkish-allied HTS rebels advance on Kurdish forces that Turkey considers terrorists but that were also key western allies in the fight against ISIS in Syria in recent years.
Note: This report is being updated as more information comes in.
