Bashar al-Assad has fled to Russia after opposition forces entered the capital Damascus.
The leader of the main Syrian opposition armed group that seized Syria’s capital, Abu Mohammed al-Julani, has said the Syrian people are the “rightful owners” of the country after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, and declared a “new history” has been written for the entire Middle East.
Al-Julani previously led the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, al-Nusra Front, before distancing himself from the group.
However, HTS is still considered a “terrorist” group by the United States, the European Union and Turkey, and has been accused by human rights groups of committing abuses in Idlib, where it has governed much of the province since 2017.
Al-Julani and HTS have sought to change that perception, focusing on a message of unity since their offensive began, and highlighted in al-Julani’s speech in the Umayyad Mosque.
In just 11 days, the 24-year rule of President Bashar al-Assad came to an end.
Before November 27, Syrian opposition forces were mostly confined to their stronghold in the northwestern governorate of Idlib, following a ceasefire brokered in March 2020 by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Wednesday, November 27, just one day after a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon came into effect, Syrian opposition forces, led by HTS, launched an offensive from their base in the Idlib governorate in northwestern Syria.
The rebel group said their attacks were in retaliation for recent Syrian government assaults on cities in Idlib, including Ariha and Sarmada, which had resulted in several civilian casualties in recent weeks.
Over 11 days, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and groups allied rapidly made progress south, as Syrian government forces withdrew from positions or were routed following heavy fighting.
