The Syrian government fell early Sunday in a stunning end to President Bashar al-Assad\u2019s 24-year rule over the Arab country after the militant group Hay\u2019at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) stormed and captured the capital Damascus. In a statement on Sunday morning, the HTS militants declared that they had captured the capital, confirming reports of the fall of the Assad government. Earlier in the day, Reuters quoted an unnamed officer as saying that the Syrian army command notified officers that the Assad government had fallen. Syrian PM: Ready to cooperate with power transfer Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali expressed the government\u2019s readiness to \u201cextend its hand\u201d to the militants and hand over its functions to a transitional government. \u201cI am in my house and I have not left, and this is because of my belonging to this country,\u201d he said in a video statement. He also noted that he would go to his office to continue work in the morning, calling on Syrian citizens not to deface public property. Foreign-backed militants, led by the HTS, waged a surprise two-pronged attack on Syria\u2019s Aleppo and the countryside around Idlib on November 27. Soon afterward, they captured several Syrian cities, including Hama, Homs, Dara\u2019a, Suwayda, and Damascus. HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani called on militants to leave state institutions unharmed. \u201cTo all military forces in the city of Damascus, it is strictly forbidden to approach public institutions, which will remain under the supervision of the former Prime Minister until they are officially handed over, and it is also forbidden to fire bullets into the air,\u201d he said in a statement released on Telegram. HTS declares fall of Assad government In their statement, the HTS militant group, which called itself the Syrian National Transitional Council, announced the toppling of the Assad government. It further vowed to \u201cpreserve the unity and sovereignty of Syrian territory, \u2026 protect all citizens and their property, regardless of their affiliations,\u201d and \u201cachieve comprehensive national reconciliation.\u201d Syrian state television aired a video statement by a group of militants saying that President Assad has been overthrown and all prisoners have been released. \u201cThe city of Damascus has been liberated,\u201d said one of the militants who read the statement. \u201cAll the prisoners have been released from the prison of Damascus. We wish all our fighters and citizens preserve and maintain the property of the state of Syria. Long live Syria.\u201d ‘Power transfer to take place in cooperation with UN’ Head of the Syrian National Coalition, Hadi al-Bahra, said, \u201cThe situation is safe, and there is no room for revenge or retaliation.\u201d \u201cGovernment institutions will resume operations within two days\u201d and that the \u201ctransfer of power will take place in cooperation with the United Nations,\u201d he told Al-Arabiya.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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