Syria Live Updates: Assad Has Resigned and Left Syria, Russia Says
President Bashar al-Assad’s immediate location was not initially clear after rebels took control of Syria’s capital. Russia’s foreign ministry did not provide details on where he had gone, saying only that he had resigned and left the country. Raja Abdulrahim Hwaida Saad Farnaz Fassihi and Adam Rasgon President Bashar al-Assad has resigned and left Syria, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday, a stunning fall for the longtime dictator that ushered in hope and uncertainty after rebels opposed to his rule stormed across the country in a lightning offensive. Mr. al-Assad’s departure was an earthshaking moment in the history of Syria, which has been ruled by his family with an iron fist since the early 1970s. It marked a dramatic breakthrough for rebel factions in Syria that have been trying to unseat Mr. al-Assad for more than a decade, much of which was marked by a devastating civil war. For many in Syria, Mr. Assad’s fall was a moment filled with hope as they no longer feared the regime that has used oppressive tactics to quash their freedoms. But it was also rife with uncertainty over who will rule Syria next and raised fears of a power vacuum in a country that has been rived with competing factions vying for control of different areas of territory. “Our hearts are dancing with joy,” Walaa Salameh, 35, a resident of the Damascus area, said in a phone interview. “We can’t predict the future and anything is possible, but the most important thing is we got rid of this oppressive regime.” The Foreign Ministry’s statement did not offer details on Mr. al-Assad’s exact location, saying only that he had held talks with “several parties of the armed conflict.” There was no immediate comment from the Syrian presidency about Mr. al-Assad. Earlier Sunday, the main rebel coalition, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, had announced on its Telegram channel that it had taken the capital, Damascus, and that Syrian forces were withdrawing. It later said that Mr. al-Assad had fallen and that Damascus was “free of the tyrant.” The events capped a startling two weeks in which the coalition of rebel groups that had been pinned down in a small corner of Syria’s northwest swept through the country’s major cities, shattering a stalemate in Syria’s 13-year civil war.