Rebel forces arriving at Umayyad Square, Damascus, on the morning of December 8, 2024. A few hours earlier, they had announced the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime. (Credit: Louai Beshara/AFP)
On Sunday, Dec. 8, at dawn, Syrian rebels announced the fall of the Assad regime as the first vehicles carrying insurgent fighters entered the streets of Damascus, declaring the “liberation” of the capital.
Following a lightning offensive launched on Nov. 28 in northern Syria from the Idlib pocket, Syrian rebels, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), ended more than five decades of Assad family rule in just over 10 days.
Since then, dozens of images and videos have circulated on social media. From official rebel announcements and the release of detainees from Sednaya Prison to the forceful entry into the presidential palace and the Iranian embassy, here is a brief selection:
Mohammad Jalali escorted to the "Four Seasons"
After successively retaking the cities of Aleppo, Hama, and Homs overnight, the rebels converged on Damascus, where the “overthrow” of the regime was officially declared in a statement broadcast on Syrian state television.
"The regime of the tyrant Bashar al-Assad has been overthrown. All prisoners unjustly detained in the regime's prisons have been freed. The 'Liberation of Damascus' operation calls on all our brothers, both fighters and citizens, to protect and maintain all Syrian state properties. Long live free Syria," declared a rebel, surrounded by about ten people, all dressed in civilian clothes.
Another widely shared video on social media shows a group of rebels escorting Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Jalali out of his office to take him to the "Four Seasons" hotel in Damascus. In a statement signed with his real name, Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of HTS, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, prohibited armed groups in Damascus from approaching public buildings or firing shots into the air. He emphasized his intention to ensure an "orderly transition."
"The institutions of the Syrian state will be overseen by former Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Jalali until they are handed over," the rebel leader stated on Sunday.
A few hours earlier, rumors began circulating on various rebel-affiliated accounts, claiming that the now-former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had fled aboard a plane that took off from Damascus airport in the middle of the night.
Skyscanner screenshot
"Assad is no longer here. He fled his country. His protector, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, no longer wished to support him," declared U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform.
Images of jubilant celebrations have been flooding social media over the past few hours. Massive crowds gathered in central Damascus to celebrate the fall of the regime, according to footage from AFPTV.
Presidential palace and Iranian embassy vandalized
At Umayyad Square, the sounds of celebratory gunfire blended with cries of "Allahu Akbar" (God is the Greatest). "We have been waiting for this day for so long," said Amer Batha, speaking to AFP by phone from Umayyad Square. "I can’t believe I’m living this moment," he added, breaking into tears. "This marks the beginning of a new chapter for Syria."
In another striking scene, residents of Damascus seized the opportunity to enter Bashar al-Assad’s presidential residence in the city center. This act followed the removal of numerous statues and symbols depicting the dictator or his predecessor and father, Hafez al-Assad, in other cities recently reclaimed by the rebels.
Still in the Syrian capital, the Iranian Embassy was ransacked by protesters, Iran’s state television reported Sunday, broadcasting footage from Damascus aired by the Saudi channel Al-Arabiya.
"Unknown individuals attacked the Iranian Embassy, as seen in these images broadcast by various foreign channels," reported Iran's state television, a staunch ally of the Assad regime.
End of tyranny at the "human slaughterhouse"
As they advanced toward Damascus, the insurgents systematically opened the gates of prisons in the towns they captured to free detainees. The final prison to be liberated on Sunday was Sednaya, located south of Damascus. The facility, infamous for the Assad regime's worst atrocities, had earned the grim nickname "the human slaughterhouse."
"What happened?" a man is heard asking while running outside the Sednaya prison, amidst a line of newly freed detainees. "The regime has fallen," comes the reply, prompting a cry of joy from the questioner.
Another video recorded inside the prison corridors shows individuals unlocking cells one by one, releasing entire families, including women and small children. "The tyranny at Sednaya prison has ended," read a post on HTS's official Telegram channel. "The gates of Sednaya prison, known as the human slaughterhouse, have been opened for thousands of detainees," confirmed the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
