Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, has fled the country after the Syria Civil War peak
Syria Civil War Live Updates: Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, has fled the country, bringing an end to his 50-year reign. Early Sunday morning, opposition forces stormed into Damascus, the capital, marking a huge shift in the battle for Syria.
The opposition reported that they started entering the city without encountering any military forces, which is the biggest challenge to Assad’s rule since the civil war kicked off in 2011.
“We’re celebrating with the Syrian people as we free our prisoners, ending their suffering and marking the end of the brutal regime at Sednaya prison,”
they said. Sednaya is a notorious military prison near Damascus where thousands were held by the government.
These fast-moving events have sent shockwaves through the region. Lebanon has shut down all its land borders with Syria except for one that connects Beirut and Damascus, and Jordan has also closed a crossing with Syria.
On Saturday night, eight major countries met with the UN special envoy on Syria at the Doha Summit for two hours of talks, and more discussions are expected. The UN envoy is pushing for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure a smooth political transition and to prevent Syria Civil War to get more intense.