by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Syria’s 50-year Assad dynasty abruptly ended this weekend when a lightning 10-day rebel offensive overran government-held territory and seized Damascus with little resistance. Bashar al-Assad, who ruled for nearly 25 years, fled by plane to an unknown destination as rebels took the capital.
Witnesses reported that thousands poured into the city’s main square, waving flags and chanting “freedom” as rebels broke through the city gates on Sunday and Assad’s forces fled the streets.
Rebel seized control of state media offices in Damascus “to broadcast the victory announcement over Assad,” featuring men declaring that President Bashar al-Assad had been overthrown and all detainees set free.
The man delivering the statement said the Operations Room to Conquer Damascus, an opposition group, urged all opposition fighters and citizens to safeguard the institutions of “the free Syrian state.”
“We celebrate with the Syrian people the news of freeing our prisoners and releasing their chains and announcing the end of the era of injustice in Sednaya prison,” the rebels said.
Damascus’s fall followed the swift capture of Homs, a strategic crossroads linking the capital to coastal government strongholds, which rebels seized late Saturday in under 24 hours of combat.
After government troops fled the city, thousands of residents filled the streets, dancing and chanting, “Assad is gone, Homs is free” and “Long live Syria and down with Bashar al-Assad.”
Once Homs fell under rebel control, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), declared that the rebels were ready to seize the entire country, promising “the end of the criminal regime is near.”
The regime’s sudden collapse reshaped the Middle East, ending the Assad family’s decades-long rule and delivering a sharp blow to Russia and Iran, who have now lost a key regional ally.
In one suburb, a statue of Hafez al-Assad was brought down and destroyed, while rebels secured control over the entire southwest within 24 hours.
The rebel factions posted on Telegram, “After 50 years of oppression under Baath rule, and 13 years of crimes and tyranny and (forced) displacement… we announce today the end of this dark period and the start of a new era for Syria.”
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
The Trump administration has formally designated the Juárez Cartel and Los Viagras as foreign terrorist organizations, expanding the federal government’s effort to dismantle criminal networks accused of flooding American communities with illegal drugs and terrorizing populations on both sides of the southern border.
The United States has approved a proposed $1.96 billion weapons sale to Saudi Arabia as fighting intensifies across the Middle East and the kingdom faces renewed missile threats from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement.
Ukraine faced mounting political turmoil Thursday after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, triggering rare wartime protests as Russian forces intensified attacks across the country.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune expressed sorrow Thursday after a fire swept through a state-run child welfare home in the eastern suburbs of the capital, Algiers, killing at least 11 people and injuring 19 others.
The United States carried out two waves of strikes against Iran on Wednesday, marking the fifth consecutive day of American attacks on military assets belonging to the Islamic regime as the battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz widened across the Middle East.
A majority of House Democrats casting a yes-or-no vote Wednesday supported cutting off funds designated for Israel, marking one of the clearest signs yet that the Democratic Party is shifting away from its longstanding support for the Jewish state.
Syrian security forces have intercepted a large shipment of advanced weapons near the Iraqi border that authorities said was intended for the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon.