Assad rule in Syria has ended, rebels say, as army appears to disband

By Agencies 8 December 2024, 5:44 am

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A boy steps over pictures of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his late father, Hafez al-Assad, right, in Salamiyah, east of Hama, Syria, December 7, 2024. (AP/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syria’s army command has notified officers that President Bashar al-Assad’s rule has ended following a lightning rebel offensive, a Syrian officer who was informed of the move tells Reuters.

Syrian rebels also say Damascus is “now free of Assad,” calling on Syrians abroad to return to their newly freed country.

An Associated Press journalist in Damascus reports seeing groups of armed civilians along the road in the outskirts of the capital and hearing sounds of gunshots. The city’s main police headquarters appeared to be abandoned, its door left ajar with no officers outside, they say.

Another AP journalist shoots footage of an abandoned army checkpoint where uniforms are discarded on the ground under a poster of Assad’s face.