Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday (December 8) said that Syria's government had collapsed, after Islamist-led rebels declared they had taken Damascus, sending President Bashar al-Assad fleeing after five decades of Baath party rule.
The "Assad regime collapsed and control of the country is changing hands", Fidan said a the Doha Forum in Qatar, adding that "this didn't happen overnight. For the last 13 years, the country has been in turmoil" since civil war began with Assad's repression of democracy protests in 2011.
While Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali stated the government was ready to transition power to a new administration, he also claimed not to know Assad's whereabouts. In Damascus, crowds celebrated in the streets, chanting anti-Assad slogans and expressing disbelief over the speed of the government's downfall after 14 years of civil war.
Syrian insurgents said they had entered Damascus today morning, in the culmination of a rapid advance across the country. Residents of the capital reported hearing gunfire and explosions. Pro-government Sham FM radio reported that Damascus airport had been evacuated and all flights were suspended.
Chaos erupted at the city's airport as dozens tried to flee the capital amid the advancing rebels, CNN reported. Footage showed people rushing through security checks and running toward the departure gates in a desperate bid to leave before the rebels could block their escape.
According to two senior army officers quoted by Reuters, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had boarded a plane and left Damascus for an unknown location.
Insurgents also claimed to have entered the notorious Saydnaya military prison north of Damascus, where they reportedly freed prisoners.
The night before, opposition forces had taken the centre city of Homs, which is Syria's third-largest city, after pulling back government forces. Losing Homs was a heavy blow for Assad. The city serves as a strategic crossing between Damascus and Syria's littoral provinces of Latakia and Tartus, two provinces that are very essential to Assad's base and which host a Russian naval base.
The rebels announced their victory in Homs on December 7, which is a great success for the lightning offensive that began on November 27. Insurgents have already seized Aleppo, Hama, and significant areas of southern Syria.
Rebels entered the capital, Damascus, after Syrian army withdrew from southern Syria and handed over many provincial capitals to the insurgents.
The last week was the largest gains by the opposition forces in Syria in years. A group with origins in al-Qaeda, designated a terrorist organisation by the US and the UN, is leading the effort to overthrow Assad. Insurgents have faced little resistance from the Syrian army as they strive to overthrow Assad.
The most significant challenge to the rule of Assad since the war erupted has been the rapid advancement of the rebels and Assad's former allies not aiding him.
In Damascus, it was reported that people rush to buy supplies, as thousands of them flee to the border between Syria and Lebanon, trying to leave their country.
This was the first time that opposition forces had reached the outskirts of Damascus since 2018, when Syrian troops retook the area after a prolonged siege. The UN said it was relocating non-essential staff out of Syria as a precaution.
US President-elect Donald Trump wrote on X that the US should not engage militarily in Syria. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden's National Security Advisor said that the Biden administration had no intention of intervening.
As per an AFP report the United States is keen on ensuring the fighting in Syria does not lead to a resurgence of ISIS or a humanitarian crisis, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on December 6.