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
Iran has deployed regular army special forces into northern Iraq, carrying out a series of ground raids against Iranian Kurdish opposition groups as Tehran moves to eliminate forces it views as a potential threat to the Islamic Republic.
Egyptian authorities have executed the man convicted of murdering a Coptic Orthodox priest, bringing to a close a case that shocked Egypt’s Christian community more than four years after the fatal attack, Worthy News learned Tuesday
Hungary’s only nuclear power plant was operating at just over 10 percent of capacity Tuesday after narrowly avoiding an unprecedented complete shutdown, while neighboring Romania used military explosives to clear a rocky obstruction and improve water flow to its own nuclear station during an intense heatwave.
The United States has expanded its intelligence presence in Cuba as the Trump administration presses Havana’s communist government to accept sweeping reforms or surrender its grip on power, according to a Politico report.
British businessman Samuel Leeds has pledged to fund legal representation for Christian street preachers who face police action for publicly sharing their faith.
Seven Christians in India’s Madhya Pradesh state have been sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment following accusations that they used a child’s birthday party to conduct unlawful religious conversions.
Israel and Lebanon will resume U.S.-brokered talks in Rome on Tuesday, with negotiators seeking to turn a fragile diplomatic framework into meaningful security gains along Israel’s northern border.