SNATCH & GRAB
Syrian rebels loot banks, ransack Assad’s millions & storm embassies after toppling tyrant as nation descends into chaos
Assad and his family fled the capital on a plane
SYRIANS gleefully ransacked Bashar al-Assad's palace after the ousted tyrant fled the country to his Russian terrorist ally Vladimir Putin.
Syria's government has fallen in a stunning end to the 24-year rule of Assad after rebels seized Damascus in a lightning blitz.
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Assad fled from Damascus to Moscow in a plane on Sunday as the butcher's regime was overthrown by the militants in just 10 days.
Thousands of Syrians took to the streets in celebration, firing guns into the air, lighting flares, and waving the rebel flag.
Delighted fighters posted footage from inside Assad's presidential palace as they celebrated their stunning win.
The rebels have ransacked the palace, going room from room looting items of value including Louis Vuitton and other prized possessions.
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A video features scores of people raiding the cupboards while duvets and linen bed sheets are on the floor.
One person was seen holding an orange Louis Vuitton box while others carried bags bulging with looted items.
It's thought dozens of Assad's luxury vehicles have also been seized after militants broke into his garage packed with Mercedes, Ferraris, and Audis.
Militants have also stormed and looted the Iranian embassy as well as the Italian embassy, while the Iraqi embassy has been evacuated to Lebanon.
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Watch Syrian rebels storm Assad’s palace after seizing second city Aleppo
The Italian ambassador was unharmed in the break-in by an armed group of rebels who stole three cars from the garden before fleeing.
The ambassador and his security have since been placed in a secure location as rebels continue their siege across the city.
Syrians have also reportedly been seen leaving the country's Central Bank with bags stuffed full of cash.
It comes as...
- Rebels say Damascus is now 'free of Assad' as thousands take to streets of capital
- Assad leaves Syrian capital on plane for unknown destination
- Rebel commander says they have seized control of Homs - the country's third biggest city
- Syria's Prime Minister says he is 'ready to hand over power' as he's escorted from home by rebels
- Israel deploys forces to UN-monitored buffer zone of the Golan Heights but 'won't interfere'
- Trump says US should have 'nothing to do' with Syrian uprising
The rebels have also opened the cells of a military prison in Damascus where Assad dumped anyone who threatened his rule.
Government soldiers captured by the rebels have been paraded through the streets under the watch of armed guards.
A hunt for Assad - notorious for nerve gas attacks on children - intensified after he escaped and a plane fleeing Syria vanished off radars.
Syria's rebels stormed into Damascus on Saturday after seizing cities and towns in an almost unchecked advance.
Russian state media confirmed the dictator and his family were granted asylum in Russia for "humanitarian reasons" after their jet landed in Moscow.
The Russian outlet TASS added: "Russian officials are in contact with representatives of the armed Syrian opposition, whose leaders have guaranteed the safety of Russian military bases and diplomatic institutions on the territory of Syria."
Russia, one of Assad's closest allies, confirmed earlier today that the tyrant had left Syrian but did not initially share where he fled to.
The Syrian flag however was removed from a pole outside the country's embassy in Moscow on Sunday, as the consulate provided no reason for the removal.
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The fall of Assad is a humiliating blow for Vladimir Putin and Iran who had backed the tyrant during the civil war.
Syria has been shattered by more than 13 years of conflict that has turned cities to rubble, killed hundreds of thousands of people, and forced millions abroad as refugees.
Syria's army command has notified officers that Assad's rule is over - while rebels said Damascus is now "free of Assad", Reuters reported.
It marks the end of 50 years of rule by the Assad family - with rebels shouting "freedom" while celebrating and looting the embassies of Assad's allies and the dictator's palace.
Abu Mohammed al-Golani, a former al-Qaeda commander who cut ties with the group years ago, leads the biggest rebel faction - and is set to decide the country's future.
Al-Golani made his first public appearance, since entering the capital's suburbs, at a mosque in Damascus.
He bashed Assad in his speech and said the dictator had made Syria a "a farm for Iran's greed."
Al-Golani said: "Liberation has occurred despite the nose of that tyrant."
He also told the cheering crowd: "This victory, my bothers, with the help of God, by the blood of the martyrs, the widows, the orphans and the suffering of the people who were in the prisons. The future is ours."
He faces the daunting task of healing bitter divisions in a country ravaged by war and still split among different armed factions.
Turkey-backed opposition fighters are battling US-allied Kurdish forces in the north, and ISIS is still active in some remote areas.
Rebel commander Anas Salkhadi appeared on state TV and said: "Syria is for everyone, no exceptions. Syria is for Druze, Sunnis, Alawites, and all sects."
"We will not deal with people the way the Assad family did," he added in a bid to reassure the country's religious and ethnic minorities.
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The country's prime minister said the regime was now preparing to hand over its operations to the rebels.
Fighters frogmarched PM from his home to their hotel headquarters as the transition began.
Assad quickly boarded his private jet and fled from Damascus early on Sunday, before rebels reached his palace in the capital.
The move came after negotiations with "a number of participants in the armed conflict," Russia added.
There has been no official statement from Assad's government.
In a statement read out on Syrian TV, rebel fighters declared victory and said: "Long live Syria, free and proud for all Syrians of all sects.
"The city of Damascus has been liberated, the tyrant Bashar al-Assad has been overthrown, and all unjustly detained prisoners have been released from the regime's prisons."
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Statues of the Assad family have been toppled around the country with a bust of Hafez being decapitated late Saturday.
In a victory statement, rebels congratulated the country on overthrowing Assad.
The Syrian National Coalition said: "The great Syrian revolution has broken decades of tyranny and oppression, giving birth to a new Syria.
"Today, it has moved from the struggle to overthrow the Assad regime to the struggle to build a Syria that honours the sacrifices of its people."
It also declared a commitment to transfer power to a transitional governing body and aim "for a free, democratic, and pluralistic Syria".
A curfew in Damascus has been announced by rebels starting at 4pm local time until 5am.
Russia has put all of its military bases on high alert and has "appealed to all parties involved with a strong call to renounce the use of violence and solve all governance issues through political means."
Two Lebanese security sources have told Reuters that Hezbollah has withdrawn all of its forces from the country after it helped support Assad's regime as a proxy of Iran.
But as Syrians celebrate in the Israeli-occupied buffer zone in the Golan Heights which was captured from Syria in 1967, almost 300 miles away, suspected airstrikes from Israel hit Damascus on Sunday.
Donald Trump reacts to Assad's fall
The incoming president lashed out at Russia when commenting on the fall of Assad's regime.
On X, the Republican leader wrote: "Opposition fighters in Syria, in an unprecedented move, have totally taken over numerous cities, in a highly coordinated offensive, and are now on the outskirts of Damascus, obviously preparing to make a very big move toward taking out Assad.
"Russia, because they are so tied up in Ukraine, and with the loss there of over 600,000 soldiers, seems incapable of stopping this literal march through Syria, a country they have protected for years."
He went on to blame former President Barack Obama for "refusing to honor his commitment of protecting the RED LINE IN THE SAND" which led to Russia stepping into the conflict.
Trump noted that Russia being forced out of Syria is "the best thing that can happen" as "there was never much benefit" in Syria for Putin.
"Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!" he added.
On TruthSocial the president-elect said that both Russia and Iran are now in ";a weakened state" before he called for a ceasefire in Ukraine to "stop the madness."
The security sources told Reuters that three Israeli airstrikes struck a Syrian government chemical weapon site in Damascus, said to have been used by Iran to develop missiles in the past.
One source said these strikes damaged infrastructure used to store military data, equipment, and guided missile parts, according to Reuters.
The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights said warplanes targeted the military airport as well as the vicinity of the village of Beitima in the Jabal al-Sheikh area in the west of the city.
Explosions had been heard in the region moment before heavy smoke poured into the sky.
It is believed that Israel bombed the Khlakhuala air base in the south of the country overnight.
It comes after the IDF was deployed in the Golan buffer zone in preparation for chaos following the toppling of Assad, on Saturday night.
Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu said: "This is a historic day in the history of the Middle East. We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border."
The IDF's chief of staff said it was now "fighting on four fronts," which he said were Syria, Gaza, Lebanon, and Judea.
Israel also said it hit at least seven targets in southwest Syria earlier on Sunday, including the Khalkhala air base where they claimed Assad's troops abandoned missiles, air defence batteries, and munition.
BLITZ TO POWER
Rebel fighters attacking from the south arrived in Damascus yesterday after quickly advancing through the countryside.
Last night, opposition forces also seized control of the key city of Homs, Syria's third largest, as government forces abandoned it.
It was the first time opposition forces had reached Damascus since 2018 when Syrian troops recaptured areas on the outskirts of the capital following a years-long siege.
UK government welcomes reports of Assad's fall
DEPUTY Prime Minister Angela Rayner has welcomed Assad's fall.
Rayner told Sky News the situation in Syria "looks very serious".
She said: "If (the) Assad regime has fallen, then I welcome that news, but what we need to see is a political resolution in line with the UN resolutions.
"We need to see civilians and infrastructure protected, far too many people have lost their lives, we need stability in that region."
Rayner also added the British government is working to evacuate nationals in the country.
She did not say how many British nationals are in Syria but said the Foreign Office had been working over the weekend to help them leave.
She added: "We've had a plan to ensure that people were evacuated ahead of what's happened over the weekend, and we continue to support our UK nationals.
Rayner later said Mr Assad "wasn't exactly good to the Syrian people", before adding: "Dictatorship and terrorism creates problems for the people of Syria, who have faced so much already and also destabilises the region.
"That's why we have to have a political solution where the government is acting in the interests of the Syrian people."
Regime forces appeared to melt away against the offensive which attacked in a coordinated fashion from the north and south.
A number of countries have closed border crossings with Syria as the chaos unfolds, including Lebanon and Jordan.
All pro-Iranian forces have reportedly withdrawn from the country in a humiliating blow to the Ayatollah.
Iran has lost a key ally in its Shia axis across proxies and allies in the Middle East.
The fall of Assad is also a humiliating blow for Vladimir Putin who had backed the tyrant during the civil war.
In return, the Kremlin was allowed to operate two military bases inside Syria.
One of those was a naval base - giving the Russians a port in the Mediterranean.
But those bases might now be under threat as the rebels look to boot the Russians out of the country.
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'WATERSHED MOMENT'
Geir Pedersen, the United Nations' special envoy to Syria, said today "marks a watershed moment in Syria’s history".
He says the country has faced "relentless suffering and unspeakable loss" in its 14 years of civil war.
He adds: "This dark chapter has left deep scars, but today we look forward with cautious hope to the opening of a new one - one of peace, reconciliation, dignity, and inclusion for all Syrians."
The end of Assad's rule marks the end of his brutal reign that crushed any dissent.
In 2013, Assad used sarin nerve gas on his own people in a chemical attack to terrorise his own people.
Hundreds of people died and thousands were injured after Assad struck civilian areas controlled by rebels.
The US has declared it intends to maintain a presence in eastern Syria that it says is necessary to fight ISIS.
The US Air Force has ordered more than 75 "precision airstrikes" against camps and operatives believed to be run by the terrorist group.
President Joe Biden praised Assad's downfall calling it a "fundamental act of justice," but a "moment of risk and uncertainty."
He said: "At long last, the Assad regime has fallen.
"This regime brutalised and tortured and killed literally hundreds of thousands of innocent Syrians."
The President added that he was nor sure of Assad's whereabouts but was monitoring reports that he had sought refuge in Moscow.
Biden also credited the US and it's allies in this historic moment for weakening Syria's backers Russia, Iran and, Hezbollah.
The developments in Syria in recent hours and days are unprecedented, and we are speaking to our partners in the region and monitoring the situation closely
Sir Keir Starmer
However, incoming president Donald Trump stated in a social media post he wants little to do with the toppling of Assad's regime.
In a , he said: "This is not our fight... Let it play out. Do not get involved!"
Sir Keir Starmer has called for all sides to protect civilians.
The PM said: "The developments in Syria in recent hours and days are unprecedented, and we are speaking to our partners in the region and monitoring the situation closely.
"The Syrian people have suffered under Assad’s barbaric regime for too long and we welcome his departure.
"Our focus is now on ensuring a political solution prevails and peace and stability is restored.
"We call on all sides to protect civilians and minorities, and ensure essential aid can reach the most vulnerable in the coming hours and days.”
French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron said the "barbaric state has fallen".
He said: "I pay tribute to the Syrian people, to their courage, to their patience.
"In this moment of uncertainty, I send them my wishes for peace, freedom, and unity.
"France will remain committed to the security of all in the Middle East."
This dark chapter has left deep scars, but today we look forward with cautious hope to the opening of a new one - one of peace, reconciliation, dignity, and inclusion for all Syrians
Geir Pedersen
The German Foreign Office has called the end of the Assad regime "a big relief for millions of people in Syria" while saying Assad "must be held accountable" for the atrocities during the war.
However, Germany warned that Syrians "deserve a better future" and that the country "must not fall into the hands of other radicals".
It called on "all parties to the conflict to act with regard to their responsibility for all Syrians."
In the first official statement from Iran since the fall of Assad's regime, the country has said it is watching the situation closely.
Tehran which helped support Assad's rule said that it respects the country's unity and national sovereignty and that its future decision-making "rests solely with the people of Syria".
Iran's Foreign Ministry added that "the long-standing and friendly relations" between the two countries are set to continue.
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Ukraine's foreign ministry said the fall of Assad has demonstrated Russia's inability to fight on two fronts.
It said: “Events in Syria demonstrate the weakness of Putin’s regime, which is incapable of fighting on two fronts and abandons its closest allies for the sake of continued aggression against Ukraine."
A timeline of the Syrian civil war
The sudden collapse of Assad's rule over Syria could mark the end of a nearly 14-year civil war in the country.
2011 - The first protests against Assad quickly spread across the country, and are met by security forces with a wave of arrests and shootings.
Some protesters take up guns and military units defect as the uprising becomes an armed revolt that will gain support from Western and Arab countries and Turkey.
2012 - A bombing in Damascus is the first by al Qaeda's new Syrian affiliate, the Nusra Front, which gains in power and starts crushing groups with a nationalist ideology.
World powers meet in Geneva and agree on the need for a political transition, but their divisions on how to achieve it will foil years of U.N.-sponsored peace efforts.
Assad turns his air force on opposition strongholds, as rebels gain ground and the war escalates with massacres on both sides.
2013 - Lebanon's Hezbollah helps Assad to victory at Qusayr, halting rebel momentum and showing the Iran-backed group's growing role in the conflict.
Washington has declared chemical weapons use a red line, but a gas attack on rebel-held eastern Ghouta near Damascus kills scores of civilians without triggering a U.S. military response.
2014 - Islamic State group suddenly seizes Raqqa in the northeast and swathes more territory in Syria and Iraq.
Rebels in the Old City of Homs surrender, agreeing to move to an outer suburb - their first big defeat in a major urban area and a precursor to future "evacuation" deals.
Washington builds an anti-Islamic State coalition and starts air strikes, helping Kurdish forces turn the jihadist tide but creating friction with its ally Turkey.
2015 - With better cooperation and more arms from abroad, rebel groups gain more ground and seize northwestern Idlib, but Islamist militants are taking a bigger role.
Russia joins the war on Assad's side with air strikes that turn the conflict against the rebels for years to come.
2016 - Alarmed by Kurdish advances on the border, Turkey launches an incursion with allied rebels, making a new zone of Turkish control.
The Syrian army and its allies defeat rebels in Aleppo, seen at the time as Assad's biggest victory of the war.
The Nusra Front splits from al Qaeda and starts trying to present itself in a moderate light, adopting a series of new names and eventually settling on Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
2017 - Israel acknowledges air strikes against Hezbollah in Syria, aiming to degrade the growing strength of Iran and its allies.
U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led forces defeat Islamic State in Raqqa. That offensive, and a rival one by the Syrian army, drive the jihadist group from nearly all its land.
2018 - The Syrian army recaptures eastern Ghouta, before quickly retaking the other insurgent enclaves in central Syria, and then the rebels' southern bastion of Deraa.
2019 - Islamic State loses its last scrap of territory in Syria. The U.S. decides to keep some troops in the country to prevent attacks on its Kurdish allies.
2020 - Russia backs a government offensive that ends with a ceasefire with Turkey that freezes most front lines. Assad holds most territory and all main cities, appearing deeply entrenched. Rebels hold the northwest.
A Turkey-backed force holds a border strip. Kurdish-led forces control the northeast.
2023 - The Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 triggers fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, ultimately reducing the group's presence in Syria and fatally undermining Assad.
2024 - Rebels launch a new assault on Aleppo. With Assad's allies focused elsewhere his army quickly collapses. Eight days after the fall of Aleppo the rebels have taken most major cities and enter Damascus, driving Assad from power.
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