now we begin with breaking news out of Syria of course opposition forces have declared the end of President Bashar al-assad's rule after 13 years of Civil War well earlier reuter news reported that the leader who ruled for 24 years had actually left the capital Damascus a few hours ago Rebel forces had announced they'd entered Damascus they also said they'd taken over the city's airport and the state TV building the Syrian prime minister says the government was ready to hand over power to any leadership chosen by the people I'm here at home I am not leaving
and I don't intend to leave I expect in a peaceful manner to guarantee the continuity of the public authorities and the institutions and state apparatus and to guarantee the Safety and Security for all citizens and we are extending our hands even to the opposition who extend their hands and gave assurances they will not cause any harm to any citizens who belong to the Syria of ours well moments before opposition Fighters took control of the airport open source flight trackers recorded a single plane in Syria's airspace an illusion 76 aircraft with flight number Syrian air 9218
was the last flight to take off from Damascus first it flew East and then it turned North well a few minutes later its signal disappeared as it circled over homs wellham salute takes a look back at Bashar al-assad's years in power there was hope for political change in Syria when Bashar alassad inherited power in 2000 after the death of his father Haz but apart from some economic reforms he differed little from his father's 30-year tough rule the young essed wasn't originally meant to take power he was studying to become an eye doctor in London when
he was recalled after the death of his older brother Bassel Parliament had to lower the age for presidental candidates from 40 to 34 so that he could be eligible for office a decade later he faced his first real challenge in March 2011 people took to the streets demanding democracy the president dismissed the rebellion and called it a foreign conspiracy essid was also the head of the only legal party in Syria the bath and commanderin-chief of the Armed Forces is his response was a heavy Crackdown on protesters which brought even more syrians to the streets eventually
triggering a civil war Essa did have some public support particularly from the minority alawites a sect which his family is part of but the Syrian leader repeatedly dismissed his opponents calling them terrorists what we are facing is not a political problem it's a conspiracy and terrorism the political reform process continues to move forward yet terrorism is not going down as the war dragged on it was the backing of allies Russia and IR on which provided political and Military Support that allowed Ed to recapture territory and hold on to power but his government was unable to
regain legitimacy in the eyes of much of the International Community in the shadow of War War he held elections in government controlled territories that were dismissed by many as undemocratic and despite never winning the war he survived but with a narrow support base and with only partial control of the country the Syrian leader was always uncompromising and defiant and ignored a un-led political process to bring about a democratic transition once seen as a reformist essed stands accused of using chemical weapons against his own people his government was responsible for killing and imprisoning thousands displacing millions
and for starving those who lived in besieged areas controlled by the Rebels for syrians he will always be remembered as the president who exhibited very poor leadership he's the one actually who destroyed his country displaced his own people and he's not only only lost his rule but he lost an entire Homeland in elections in 2021 Ed won seven more years in power in 2023 after more than 12 years of conflict Assad was welcomed back into the Arab League by the same Arab states that once shunned him but the situation on the ground remained the same
syrians who were hoping for a new beginning were still living in economic collapse and a humanitarian [Music] crisis and in late 2024 the long stagnant war came roaring back with the rapid advance of opposition fighters who quickly took control of several major cities at a time when Assad's allies were busy with their own conflicts elsewhere but bashard Al Assad leaves a country in Ruins and millions of syrians wondering what's next for this ancient Nation well Rell sodar is in gazi enp that's on the Turkish border with Syria Rael uh so as we were saying there
earlier when we were talking to you opposition Fighters now in the capital uh reports that President Bashar al-assad has fled Leaving On a Plane that's taken off away from the airport bring this all together for us r r what have you been hearing there well regarding this here in this Turkish um as as official Turkish reaction we do not have it yet however president erog of Turkey in the last couple of days again again he has reiterated his position and expressing his support for the opposition's adance and he says that we wish they will not
face any issue and reach to the Mascus which is something that has happened now that they are in the oppos they in the capital city of of Damascus so just let's remember that the advance of the opposition has started on 27th of November has started from the province of idlib which is directly connected to Turkey and turkey has been the life line of idli Province where this HDs lad position was based since 2016 or for the last eight years and now that same opposition has taken the control of Aleppo the second largest city of Syria
then hamama the fourth largest and now the homes the third larges and finally the capital of the country so for turkey on one hand it is provide according to their calculus is providing an a great opportunity because they turkey's position was an anti- Syrian government position for more than decades and seeing that government gun is something that Ankara was wishing for and also they believe that a stable um the Syria uh ran by the opposition will perhaps create an opportunity that the the Syrian refugees in Turkey roughly around 3.5 million officially um majority of them
could go back to their own country this issue of the the the the the the the immigration has been quite an issue for turkey particularly in the last couple of years so that is another opportunity that Ankara is looking for but on the other hand it's extremely concerned as well while the status quoe in in the Syria is just shattering down breaking down then is not only the Syrian opposition backed by turkey or indirectly having a coordination with but also we are talking about the uh the SDF the Syrian Democratic forces the Kurdish mainly made
up of the opposition that's backed by the USA and turkey sees that opposition as a terror organization but now they are in control of several cities including raqa deor and alukal the Border Gates that's connecting Syria to Iraq as well so turkey's position on one hand they are supporting the opposition's advance toward the cities taking the capital and finally taking the control of the government but on the other hand Ankara doesn't want the Kurdish lad of the opposition SDF to have more and more territories which is a case that has happened in the last year
so it is is quite a difficult balance for Ankara uh racal and statements coming from the prime minister of Syria uh on state TV which we saw pictures earlier he hasn't fled the country surprisingly what's he been saying Westell well he's simply saying that he's at home he's not leaving that he's not leaving Damascus but that doesn't mean that the government is decided to fight so simply he is saying that we have been guarantees we have been given guarantees by the HTS Le position that is now gradually taking the control of the capital and he's
saying that have been promised that they will not be looting they will not be storming into the the the state apparatuses the governmental buildings and so on and just minutes after his statement another statement came from the leader of the htas the opposition Muhammad Al julani simply calling on his soldiers on his troops the opposition fighters of not storming vandalizing the state uh the buildings the government buildings and facilities and saying that let the same apparatuses buildings and Facilities to be managed by the prime Ministry of Syria so we see that based on these statements
that actually now there is a coordination between the opposition that is taking control of the capital gradually and the prime Ministry that is already in Damascus so and for that the aim of this coordination is actually to provide or to preserve to make sure that there will be a smooth transition because now we are talking about a a 54 year rule of the Assad Dynasty coming to an end and it is coming after almost 13 years of a civil war so there is a lot at the stake anytime anything could break up and the new
violence or the conflicts could could could just erupt so that's why they need to be extremely careful now the opposition is giving guarantees to the different segments of the societies non-muslims minorities Shia Muslims and all the other and in return now those who have served in the highest ranks of the government including the Prime Minister himself is actually reiterating that confirming that they have been the guarantees and he's confirming that they are ready to cooperate with the incoming incoming leadership not the government yet but with the incoming leadership so to just make sure that there
will be a smooth transition all right Al Ral sodar there in gazi enp that's on the Turkish border with Syria Ral for now thank you let's make sure to subscribe to our Channel get the latest news from Al jazer
