Rebels declare end of Assad rule in Syria

Kathmandu: Islamist-led rebels declared that they had taken Damascus in a lightning offensive on Sunday, sending President Bashar al-Assad fleeing and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria.

Prime Minister Mohammed al-Jalali said he was ready to cooperate with any leadership chosen by the Syrian people. The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, told AFP that Assad left Syria via Damascus International Airport before the army security forces left the facility.

The defence ministry earlier denied that rebels had entered Homs, describing the situation there as “safe and stable”. Homs lies about 140 kilometres (85 miles) from the capital and was the third major city seized by the rebels, who began their advance on November 27, reigniting a years-long war that had become largely dormant.

Likewise, An AFP correspondent in Daraa saw local fighters guarding public property and civil institutions. An Iraqi security source told AFP that Baghdad had allowed in hundreds of Syrian soldiers, who “fled the front lines”, through the Al-Qaim border crossing.

RSS/AFP