As Islamist-led rebels stormed into Damascus on Sunday, President Bashar al-Assad fled Syria, sparking celebrations throughout the nation and beyond at the end of his repressive regime.
Late on Sunday, Russian news outlets reported that Assad and his family were in Moscow.
Five decades of harsh Baath party rule came to a stunning finale when the rebels said the overthrown leader had fled, and crowds explored his opulent residence.
The government fell 11 days after the rebels began a surprise advance, more than 13 years after Assad’s crackdown on anti-government protests ignited Syria’s civil war — which had become largely dormant until the rebel push.
“This victory, my brothers, is historic for the region,” Abu Mohammed al- Jolani, leader of the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group (HTS) thatspearheaded the advance, said in an address at the landmark Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.
While calling the country’s political turmoil a “historic opportunity” for Syrians to rebuild their nation, US President Joe Biden stated that Assad should be “held accountable.”
“The fall of the regime is a fundamental act of justice,” Biden said from the White House.
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