Syria. President Bashar al-Assad Has Assad fled? Reuters: The dictator's rule collapsed after 24 years

The information about Assad leaving Damascus was confirmed by Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), in an interview with the German dpa agency.

Meanwhile, Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said that he remains in place and is ready to ensure the continuity of state power after Assad leaves the country. However, the leader of the Syrian rebels, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said that he was a “former prime minister”. He also said that it is forbidden to approach public institutions that remain under the supervision of the current state authorities until they are officially handed over to the rebels.

“The Syrian army command notified officers that after the rebels' lightning offensive, Assad's 24-year rule has come to an end.” – one of the Syrian officers told Reuters.

Earlier, Syrian rebels reported that their troops had entered Damascus without encountering resistance from government troops, as well as other major Syrian cities.

The fighting that has been going on for a week and a half is the most serious clashes in Syria since 2020, when the front line in the civil war that has been going on since 2011 was frozen. The Assad regime then managed to regain control over most of the country's territory, largely thanks to the support of Russia and Iran.

Both countries continue to help Assad, with Russian air forces regularly bombing rebel-held cities, but both Moscow and Tehran are also involved in other conflicts. Russia has been waging war in Ukraine for over two years, and Iran has been supporting the actions of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis against Israel for over a year. According to SOHR, over 800 people have been killed in the current phase of the conflict in Syria, including over 100 civilians. The UN reported 370,000 refugees. At least half a million people have died in Syria's civil war since 2011.