Syria civil war: Moscow gives asylum to Assad, US Strikes IS targets

Syrian opposition figure Abdul Hadi Al Bahra has said that a "black phase in the history of Syria has ended", Reuters reported.

The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, the main rebel group in Syria, has said that the aim of its offensive is to ‘overthrow’ President Bashar al-Assad's regime and “liberate” the country.

Syrian Prime Minister has said that he is ready to cooperate with any leadership chosen by the people, AFP reports.

The Assad regime's forces have withdrawn from the Defence Ministry headquarters in Damascus, Al Jazeera Arabic reports citing Syrian rebels sources.

This comes amid reports of the Syrian opposition forces entering the capital city and President Bashar al-Assad leaving from there to an unknown location.

The Syrian rebels have taken control over the Public Radio and TV building in the capital city of Damascus, Al Jazeera Arabic reports citing opposition forces.

Notably, this building is a significant and symbolic site in Syria.

The Syrian opposition forces, HTS, launched a surprise offensive against President Bashar al-Assad's regime on November 27, beginning with entering Aleppo city.

From there, the rebels had no looking back to do. Intensified fights with the Syrian army continue as the latter's defences begin collapsing in several places, now including the capital city of Damascus.

As dozens of people try to flee Capital Damascus amid rebels' advance, chaos unfolded at the city's airport, CNN reported.

Visuals showed people rushing through security checks and running towards the departure gate to flee the country before the rebels block the exit paths.

An AFP report said that the United States wants to ensure that the intense fighting in Syria does not lead to a possibility of "resurgence of ISIS" or "humanitarian catastrophe", White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said.

“We have seen reports of ISIS trying… to reconstitute to a certain extent,” Sullivan said.

He said that America is working towards taking "steps ourselves, directly and working with the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurds", to ensure ISIS doe not "get new oxygen out of this".

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has boarded a plan and left from Damascus to an unknown destination, two senior army officers were cited as saying by Reuters.

Aljazeera reported that Syrian rebels have freed all the prisoners at the Sednaya Prison near the Capital Damascus.

"We announce the end of the era of tyranny at Sednaya Prison," the opposition was cited as saying.

The Administration of Military Affairs, for the Syrian opposition forces, said in a statement, "Our forces have started entering the capital Damascus," Al Jazeera reported.

The United Nations is "carefully monitoring the fast-moving situation in Syria with concern", UN relief chief Tom Fletcher posted on X.

"Our core teams remain on the ground to deliver assistance. All sides must ensure civilians are protected, can move freely, & access is facilitated to those in need of humanitarian support, wherever they are," he added.

Earlier, HTS spokesman Hassan Abdul-Ghani, posted on Telegram that his group was carrying out the “final stage” of its offensive by trying to takeover Damascus.

Though Turkey has been a key supporter of the fighters seeking to overthrow President Assad's regime, its officials have rejected claims of any involvement in the current offensive in Syria, AP reported.

The Syrian rebels, led by HTS, have just one major aim in their offensive, and that is to “overthrow” president Bashar al-Assad's regime.

HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani had reaffirmed the same in an interview with CNN earlier this week.

According to AFP, the Syrian civil war monitor has said that the Syrian army and security forces have left the Damascus airport.

Hezbollah is withdrawing its forces from the outskirts of Capital Damascus and the Homs are, AFP reported citing a source close to the Lebanese group on Sunday.

The group has "instructed its fighters in recent hours to withdraw from the Homs area, with some heading to Latakia (in Syria) and others to Hermel area in Lebanon", the source told AFP.

They added that Hezbollah fighters have also withdrawn from their posts around Damascus.

As the conflict in Syria continues to intensify, the whereabouts of President Bashar al-Assad remain unknown.

The government, earlier, was forced to deny rumours that the Syrian president had fled the country.

The 24-year-long rule of Assad has been brought to the edge by the Syrian rebels, who now have control of majority of the key cities. The rebels are now inching closer towards the capital city of Damascus.

The European Union is closely monitoring the volatile situation in Syria, EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni posted on X.

"We urge all parties to protect civilians and ensure the safety of humanitarian aid workers. We reiterate our call for a political solution consistent with UNSCR 2254 (UN Security Council Resolution 2254)," he added.

Two residents, cited by Reuters, said that intense sounds of shooting is being heard in the centre of the Syrian capital of Damascus.

For the first time ever in Syria's long-standing civil war, the government has control of only three of the 14 provincial capitals, Damascus, Latakia, and Tartus.

Amid the surprise attack from Syria's most powerful insurgent group, the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, president Bashar al-Assad's regime is starting to hang by a thread.

Defenses of President Bashar al-Assad's forces have collapsed in the capital city of Damas, reports said.

According to a CNN report, a resident told the media organization that rebel forces appear to have entered Damascus amid the collapse of Assad regime's defenses.

"The rebels are in Barzeh. I saw rebel fighters moving through the inner alleys of Barzeh toward Police Club Street, and I can hear very loud sounds of clashes. The electricity is cut off, and the internet is very weak, people are staying at their houses," the resident was quoted as saying.

As Syrian rebels close in on the capital city, reports have said that Syrian forces are withdrawing from the Damascus international airport.

US President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday said that America should refrain from military action in Syria. "This is not our fight," he said.

The comments came in the backdrop of Syrian rebel forces capturing key cities in the country, keeping its focus stern on Capital Damascus.

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Pro-Iranian Hezbollah has withdrawn from the Syrian city of Qusayr along its country, Lebanon's border shortly before rebel forces seized it, Syrian army sources were cited as saying on Sunday by Reuters.

They told the news agency that at least 150 armored vehicles carrying hundreds of fighters left the city in phases.

Notably, Qusayr has been a key supply route for the militia's arms transfer and flow of fighters in and out of Syria since Hezbollah seized it in 2013.