TRANSCRIPT
Ending 13 years of civil war and over 50 years of the brutal Assad regime, Syrian rebels have officially gained control of the capital Damascus.
It took less than two weeks for rebel groups led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham to bring an end to the regime that led the country through over a decade of civil war.
Rebel commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani told rejoicing Syrians that a new chapter has begun for the Syrian people.
"Within 11 days, by God’s grace, Syria was liberated from its north to its south and from its east to its west. This is God’s support. Thanks to God, we have witnessed with our own eyes how 13 years of suffering are being healed through this great victory."
In a shock advancement less than two weeks ago, rebel opposition forces in Syria took control of the economic capital of Aleppo as well as Idlib in the north.
Before long, the group had taken over the city of Hama and then Homs further south.
Now, facing little resistance from the military, the group has taken control of the capital city of Damascus.
In Australia, Syrian activist Dr Rifai Tammas told SBS Arabic that the Syrian people feel optimistic about the change.
"It is the beginning of a new era for Syria's history. There is a lot of optimism among us. It's a sign of a better and brighter future than what we've experienced over the last 50 years. It is also evidence of the victory of the Syrian people's will. It is not a small matter what happened. We, the Syrian people, paid a heavy price for the freedom we obtained."
Starting in 2011, the Syrian civil war created the world's largest displacement crisis and killed hundreds of thousands of people.
There are an estimated 13 million Syrian refugees around the world; for many, like Thabet Fared Al Aech, a refugee in France, the news of Assad's fall means returning home is now an option.
“It’s like tears of happiness today. Like, we did not imagine. I lost my family, I lost my father, mother, brother, I lost many of my friends in Syria for this day. I wanted to celebrate this day in Syria today. Unfortunately I’m a refugee now in France. But we will go back. We will rebuild our country. This day will come.”
The Syrian Network for Human Rights estimates that under Assad's rule, more than 136,000 people were incarcerated in Syria's brutal prison network.
After the rebels took control, thousands of overjoyed former prisoners poured into the streets, including many from Syria's Sedanya Prison, known to rights groups as the "human slaughterhouse".
Dr Haid Haid is a consulting fellow for the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House.
He says the removal of just one person has shifted the entire future for so many Syrians.
“The individuals who were, for example, released after being some of them were imprisoned for decades - for them personally, that is I think it's, it’s something they cannot even describe with words. For their families who have some of the people that were released, they were reported to be dead. So imagine what level of sort of happiness and joy people have really experienced over the past 24 hours because of, as simple as removing one basically person on one face from the Syrian equation.”
Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali says he is willing to cooperate and facilitate the peaceful transfer of power to any leader who's chosen by the people
Shortly after the news that the rebels had taken Damascus, reports broke that President Bashar al-Assad had fled the country and is now confirmed to be in Russia.
Russia 24 Anchor Maria Bondareva says the Russian Foreign Ministry is following the events in Syria with extreme concern.
“And now for the breaking news from agencies: the former president of Syria, already the former president of Syria Bashar al-Assad is in Moscow and has received asylum in Russia. This was reported by TASS with reference to the sources in the Kremlin. Assad and his family members arrived in Moscow, and Russia granted them asylum for humanitarian reasons, the source said."
Meanwhile, the United States and Israel have both carried out strikes in Syria, with The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights already reporting Israeli troops fired and killed one young man.
The U-K based monitor says there has been a surge in Israeli military activity in the Al-Qunaitrah countryside, near the occupied Golan Heights.
The group says Israeli troops came within 100 metres of civilian homes, opening the area's gates and carrying out what they described as intense fire sweeping.
Israel captured a portion of the Golan Heights in the 1967 war and annexed it.
The international community, except for the United States, views it as illegally occupied Syrian territory.
Shahadi Nasrallah, a 57 year old Syrian living in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, says he has been waiting his whole life for its liberation.
“We now are really in hope that the Golan Heights will return back to Syria, with the big hope that we were waiting for 57 years, and the liberation of the Golan from the Israeli occupation is very important to us.”
The United States Central Command says its forces have conducted dozens of airstrikes in central Syria.
The US says its strikes are aimed at preventing the Islamic State from taking advantage of the current political situation.
In the United States, President Joe Biden says the fall of Assad is a great thing, but gave warning that the U-S does not want to see its enemies rise in his place.
“This is the best opportunity in generations for Syrians to forge their own future free of opposition. It's also an opportunity, though it’s far from certain, for a more secure and prosperous Middle East. Where our friends are safe, our enemies are contained. And it would be a waste of this historic opportunity if one tyrant were toppled and only to see a new one rise up in its place.”
While many are rejoicing the downfall of Assad, there are mixed feeling for many minority groups in Syria, who fear conditions for them may not improve under new leadership.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says it is important that everyone in Syria is treated equally.
"All minorities, non-Muslims, Christians, non-Arabs, Kurds should be treated equally. Any possible chemical weapons inventory or related materials must be secured. The new governing body should be inclusive of all parties. Opposition groups should be united now. State institutions should be preserved and work properly."
Dr Haid Haid says that the future impacts on the Arab world may take months or even years to fully comprehend.
“The future impact [ON THE ARAB WORLD] would really depend on what will happen in the upcoming months and maybe potentially a year or two. Because if you look at the scenario in which there will be like a peaceful political transition where there will be free elections, where there will be a sort of positive outcome of what we are witnessing today, then I would imagine a scenario in which many people in the countries around will be inspired and even motivated to basically also, after being depressed for so many years, and after losing hope, might reignite that hope inside them and then push them to really start again working on that.”
