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 U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that Louisiana’s revised congressional map, which added a second majority-Black district, violates the Constitution, marking a significant development in the ongoing national battle over redistricting.
President Donald Trump issued a stark warning to Iran on Wednesday, declaring that patience is wearing thin as stalled negotiations threaten to reignite full-scale conflict in the Middle East.
A federal indictment unsealed this week against longtime NIH advisor David Morens is intensifying scrutiny over what critics say may have been a coordinated effort to obscure the origins of COVID-19 and suppress key public health information during the pandemic.
The Islamic State (IS) group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a village in northeastern Nigeria that killed at least 29 people, raising fresh concerns among Christians and other communities targeted by extremists.
A military convoy escorting civilians came under fire in northern Ghana on Monday, leaving at least three civilians dead and one injured, authorities said, highlighting ongoing violence in a region shaken by years of unrest.
The trial of Egyptian Christian convert Said Mansour Rezk Abdelrazek opened last week in Cairo, drawing renewed international concern over religious freedom in Egypt. Abdelrazek, arrested in July 2025, faces multiple terrorism-related charges tied to his conversion from Islam and efforts to change the religious designation on his identity documents.
A major new study from the U.S. Geological Survey has revealed that the Appalachian region may hold a massive and largely untapped supply of lithium—offering a strategic opportunity for the United States to reclaim mineral independence in an increasingly competitive global market.