The jihadists take over Damascus and overthrow Al Assad, who has fled the country

Abu Mohamed al Jolani, the Islamist leader of the coalition that took over the capital Damascus from Syrian President Bashar al Assad, declares victory after 13 years of war that has left thousands dead and millions displaced.

“O my revolutionary brothers, pray to God to thank him for the victory he has given us through your arms,” Al Jolani said in a statement. considered terrorist by the US and the UN Security Council.

“Enter Damascus with modesty, treat your city and your people well. You must be the best soldiers, as God’s messenger has described to you,” he stated in the message, adding that they must “protect public institutions and their property.” because they belong to the people.

The insurgents today declared Damascus ‘free’ from President Bashar al-Assad after 11 days of offensive launched by a coalition led by the Islamist group Levant Liberation Organization.former Al Qaeda) along with other Turkish-backed factions to defeat the Syrian government.

Bashar Al Assad in turn is said to have left the countrywith no known destination, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights

He Syrian Prime Minister Mohamed Ghazi al Jalaliassured this Sunday that he extends his hand to “any Syrian interested in this country to preserve its institutions”, in a video published after the Islamist insurgents took control of the capital.

The rebels said shortly afterwards that public institutions in Syria will remain under Al Jalali’s control until they are “officially handed over”.

Chronology

Syrian rebels announced their entry into Damascus in the early hours of this Sunday, just eleven days after launching an offensive against the government of Bashar Al Assad.

– November 27: An insurgent coalition led by the Levant Liberation Organization (heir to the former Syrian branch of Al Qaeda), backed by Turkey, begins an offensive against the government of the Syrian president. The Islamists manage to cut the highway connecting Aleppo to Damascus and control other major arteries in the north of the country.

– November 28The rebels take over most of Idlib province, in the northeast of the country, where a ceasefire agreed between Turkey and Russia has been in place since 2020.

– November 29: The jihadists manage to enter five neighborhoods in the west of the city of Aleppo, in northern Syria and the country’s second largest city, after three days of offensive against regular Syrian forces.

– November 30: Aleppo falls with little resistance. The Levant Liberation Organization and Turkish-backed armed factions are consolidating their control over virtually the entire city and neighboring Idlib province after capturing the strategic town of Maarat al Numan, held by the Syrian army since 2020, and later Khan Sheikhun, bordering the Syrian army , have taken. the administrative demarcation of Hama, in north-central Syria.

– December 1: The Damascus government is mobilizing diplomatic channels to gain political support to stop the rebel offensive, while the Islamist factions are establishing their dominance in Aleppo, where other armed groups operate, especially the Syrian Kurdish ones, and continue their offensive towards Hama, in the center of the battle. country.

– December 2: The death toll exceeds 500 after six days of offensive. Iran’s President Masud Pezeshkian reaffirms his support for Syria and offers “all assistance” to Damascus. The Syrian army and its Russian allies launch airstrikes on insurgents on the outskirts of Al Safira, southeast of Aleppo.

– December 3: The Russian Ministry of Defense announces naval maneuvers near the coast of Syria, using new-generation hypersonic weapons. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance led by the Kurds, in turn announce that they have “taken responsibility” for seven cities in eastern Syria, previously controlled by Syrian government forces and Iranian militias.

– December 4: The foreign ministers of Russia and Egypt, Sergei Lavrov and Badr Abdelaty, respectively discuss the conflict in Syria.

– December 5: Islamist insurgents announced they have “completely” dominated the city of Hama, in central Syria, just hours after entering the country’s fourth-largest city, adding their strategic capture to that of Aleppo.

– December 6: The jihadist alliance continues its offensive towards the city of Homs, while the Syrian army tries to resist and hold off the advance to prevent a new provincial capital from falling.

– December 7: Local groups in the province of Deraa, in the south of the country and bordering Jordan, manage to control the regional capital, the cradle of the 2011 uprisings framed in the so-called ‘Arab Spring’, while Druze groups dominate the city of Al Sueida, capital of the province of the same name east of Deraa.

The Syrian government’s two main allies, Iran and Russia, and the armed opposition’s biggest supporter, Turkey, are taking closer positions to request a cessation of hostilities and start a dialogue to end the war in Syria .

– December 8: Al Jolani claims victory after rebels take control of Damascus and Assad flees the country.