Opposition forces captured Damascus early Sunday, ending the al-Assad family’s 50-year rule in a surprise attack that reached the capital in just 12 days.
The offensive began on 27 November, when opposition forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched an attack from their base in the Idlib governorate in northwestern Syria and then moved south to oust Bashar al-Assad from power. Moved forward.
Here’s how the last two days of fighting unfolded.
December 7: Finale in the capital
The camp woke up: On Saturday, opposition forces captured much of the southern Syrian region of Deraa – the birthplace of the 2011 uprising.
According to political analyst and activist Nour Adeh, people also took matters into their own hands and joined the fighting, then marched north with the fighters.
#Syria: Gbaghib city in northern #Section After its liberation from #Assad Administration.
It is the last city of Darius confirmed to have been liberated from his rule. pic.twitter.com/EvcLdm9JTw
– Thomas van Linge (@ThomasVLinge) 7 December 2024
Sweda follows this: By Saturday morning Sweda had been liberated from regime forces and from the control of Druze groups.
Closing on Damascus: Southern groups moved north while northwestern fighters closed in on Homs, the next city on the highway to Damascus.
The regime was feeling uneasy as it saw opposition fighters coming from all sides.
According to Al Jazeera’s digital investigative agency Sanad, its forces were in a state of organizational collapse, with images emerging of soldiers abandoning their weapons and uniforms, while many fled their military positions on foot.
People get up: This decline in morale led to widespread demonstrations in the rural areas around Damascus, where protesters tore down posters of al-Assad and attacked military positions.
December 8: The Last Hours
Liberation of Holmes: Desperate to stop the opposition, the regime bombed the Rastan Bridge, but opposition forces regardless, capturing Homs in the early hours of Sunday.
At the same time, they cut al-Assad off from his coastal strongholds, where two Russian military bases are located.
Joshua Landis, a University of Oklahoma professor, told Al Jazeera the capture of Homs was “the death knell… for the remaining possibility that the Syrian army will consolidate its forces and make a stand.”
On the road to Damascus: With armed opposition groups attacking Damascus from all directions, the city descended into chaos.
The military operations room deployed the “Red Crescent” division, specially trained for urban attacks, while many government forces were asked to withdraw to security centers at Damascus International Airport and central Damascus, but no To no avail.
First, Mezeh: Opposition fighters said they had taken control of Mezzeh Air Base in Damascus, a strategic and symbolic victory as the base was used by the government for rocket attacks and airstrikes against opposition-held territory throughout the war. Was.
Then, Umayyad Square: Within two hours, new footage emerged from Umayyad Square in the center of Damascus, showing citizens celebrating as opposition forces entered the capital unopposed, with gunfire being fired in celebration and signs indicating the fall of al-Assad. Slogans were raised.
#Syria: The regime’s troops have abandoned Umayyad Square in the center #Damascus,
Residents are occupying the streets. pic.twitter.com/LHCNbqTPz1
– Thomas van Linge (@ThomasVLinge) 8 December 2024
‘Syria is free’: By 6 am on 8 December, fighters declared Damascus liberated, and confirmed that Bashar al-Assad had fled the country.
People immediately destroyed symbols of the al-Assad family’s brutal rule.
David Des Roches, associate professor at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, attributed the attack’s success to a “lack of morale and leadership” in the “demoralized, poorly led, poorly equipped, thoroughly corrupt” Syrian army.
Prisoners released from Sednaya: Shortly afterward, opposition fighters released thousands of people who had been imprisoned since the Syrian uprising began in 2011 or earlier.
Sednaya, established in the early 1980s north of Damascus, has been a place where the al-Assad family has detained opponents for decades. Human rights organizations have described it as a “human slaughterhouse”.
A small child is seen while releasing prisoners during the liberation of the notorious Sednaya prison in Damascus.
This Syrian child was born in prison.
Since 2011, 30,000 Syrians have been brutally killed through torture and execution.
There are no words to describe it… pic.twitter.com/T4TkwoTscj
– زاحید عکتر – Zahid Akhtar (@ZahidDOAM) 8 December 2024
