Assad ‘leaving’ Syria, Russia confirms as rebels announce Damascus curfew

• Russia says Bashar al-Assad has decided to step down as president.
• It adds a mandate to the ousted president for a peaceful transfer of power.
• Moscow is extremely worried by the events in Syria: Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

As Syrian rebels declared a curfew in Damascus after ousting the Syrian president, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that Bashar al-Assad had left office and fled the country after ordering a peaceful handover of power.

In a statement, the ministry did not say where Assad was now and said Russia had not taken part in talks surrounding his departure.

“Russia did not participate in these negotiations,” the ministry said.

Moscow was extremely concerned by the events in Syria and urged all sides to refrain from violence, it said.

“We call on all parties involved to refrain from the use of force and to resolve all governance issues through political means,” the statement said.

“In this context, the Russian Federation is in contact with all Syrian opposition groups.”

It said that Russian military bases in Syria have been put on high alert, but that there is no serious threat to them at the moment.

Meanwhile, Syrian rebels announced a curfew in Damascus from 4pm local time to 5am.

Assad, who has crushed all forms of dissent, flew from Damascus to an undisclosed destination earlier on Sunday, two senior military officers said Reutersas the rebels said they had entered the capital with no sign of an army deployment.

This statement came amid reports that Assad may have been killed in a Syrian Air plane crash.

The flight took off from Damascus airport around the time the capital was reported to have been seized by rebels, according to data from the Flightradar website.

The aircraft initially flew towards Syria’s coastal region, a stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect, but then made a sharp turn and flew in the opposite direction for a few minutes before disappearing from the map, according to foreign media reports.

Assad has not spoken publicly since the rebels’ sudden advance a week ago, when rebels seized northern Aleppo in a surprise attack before advancing on a string of towns as front lines collapsed.

Syrians stroll through Assad’s palaces

Groups of Syrians toured President Bashar al-Assad’s palace on Sunday after his ouster, wandering from room to room, posing for photos and some taking furniture or ornaments.

Video taken from Reuters showed people entering the Al-Rawda presidential palace, as children ran through the large rooms and men slid a large trunk across the ornate floor.

Several men carried smart chairs on their shoulders. In one warehouse, cupboards had been ransacked and items strewn across the floor.

Video of another palace, Muhajreen Palace, verified by Reutersit showed groups of men and women walking across a white marble floor and through tall wooden doors. A man held a vase in his hand and a large cabinet stood empty with its doors open.

Assad’s ouster

Syrian rebels declared the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad after seizing control of Damascus on Sunday, ending his family’s rule after more than 13 years of civil war in a seismic moment for the Middle East.

The rebels also dealt a major blow to the influence of Russia and Iran in the region, key allies who supported Assad at critical moments in the civil war.

The Syrian army command notified officers on Sunday that Assad’s regime had ended, a Syrian officer briefed on the move told Reuters.

“We celebrate with the Syrian people the news of the release of our prisoners and the release of their chains and the announcement of the end of the era of injustice in Sednaya prison,” the rebels said, referring to a large prison on the outskirts of Damascus where he was held the Syrian government. thousands.

The Syrian rebel coalition said on Sunday it was continuing work to complete the transfer of power in Syria to a transitional government body with full executive powers.

Thousands in cars and on foot gathered in a central square in Damascus waving and chanting “Freedom” from half a century of rule by the Assad family, witnesses said.

The dramatic collapse also marks a dramatic moment for the Middle East, undermining Russia and Iran, which have lost a key ally in the heart of the region and creating more uncertainty as war rages in the Middle East.