Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has fled the capital Damascus to an unknown destination, according to the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, citing Syrian army officers.
The rebel alliance in Syria declared the overthrow of his government, proclaiming Damascus liberated.
The insurgents announced on social media that “the tyrant Bashar al-Assad has fled” and declared that the capital, Damascus, has been liberated from him.
Al-Assad had left the capital shortly before for an unknown destination.
“This is the moment that the displaced and the prisoners have long awaited, the moment of homecoming and the moment of freedom after decades of oppression and suffering,” the insurgents stated.
Addressing the millions of refugees displaced by the civil war, they declared: “To the displaced worldwide, a free Syria awaits you.”
There is no confirmation on the destination of President al-Assad but reports said his wife, Asma, and their three children traveled to Russia last week.
According to media reports, Asma Asad was born in London and is a British citizen. She married Assad in 2000.
Another relative of Assad’s sister’s line is said to have fled to the United Arab Emirates.
Last week Egyptian and Jordanian officials called on Assad to leave the country and form a government in exile. However, the Jordanian embassy in Washington denied this information in a comment to the Wall Street Journal.
Meanwhile, the rebels, led by the Islamist alliance Hayat Tahrir al-Sham are pushing their offensive. At the weekend, the group occupied significant territories, most often without a fight. Now they are located near Homs, the third largest city in Syria.
Syrian government forces have already left the million-plus city, according to the Syrian monitoring center for Human Rights. However, there are still pro-government militias in Homs. Thousands of people fled the central Syrian city on Friday.
The United States and Jordan have called on their citizens to leave Syria. The US government has recommended that its citizens leave the country immediately while they can use commercial airline flights from Damascus.
A warning was issued on the website of the American embassy in Syria, which has been suspended on the ground since 2012, noting that the security situation in Syria remains unpredictable.
With agency reports.
