Syrian rebels capture Damascus as President Assad flees the country

The Assad family’s decadeslong reign in Syria came to an abrupt end Sunday when rebel forces captured Damascus after a stunning lightning-strike rout across the country.

The Assad family’s decadeslong reign in Syria came to an abrupt end Sunday when rebel forces captured Damascus after a stunning lightning-strike rout across the country.

Hassan Abdul-Ghani, senior commander of the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), claimed victory for the rebel forces that stormed across Syria in a matter of days and entered Damascus overnight.

“We declare the city of Damascus free from the tyrant Bashar al-Assad,” he said in a post on WhatsApp. “To the displaced people around the world, Free Syria awaits you.”

People celebrate with anti-government fighters Sunday at Umayyad Square in Damascus.Louai Beshara / AFP - Getty ImagesVideos circulating on social media and verified by NBC News appeared to show Syrians celebrating across Damascus overnight and into the day, as crowds honked horns, waved flags and fired their guns into the air, while others posed for selfies standing on top of a tank.

Photos and video showed people toppling statues of Hafez al-Assad, father of ousted President Bashar Al-Assad, in cities across Syria, including in the Assad stronghold of Latakia.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/syrian-rebels-claim-captured-capital-damascus-rcna183263

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