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FakeNoose

(36,003 posts) Sat Dec 7, 2024, 11:58 PM Dec 7

Syrian government appears to have fallen in stunning end to 50-year rule of Assad family

Source: AP News

By BASSEM MROUE and ZEINA KARAM
Updated 11:36 PM EST, December 7, 2024

BEIRUT (AP) — The Syrian government appeared to have fallen early Sunday in a stunning end to the 50-year rule of the Assad family after a lightning rebel offensive. The head of a Syrian opposition war monitor said President Bashar Assad had left the country for an undisclosed location, fleeing ahead of insurgents who said they had entered Damascus after a remarkably swift advance across the country.

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali said the government was ready to “extend its hand” to the opposition and hand over its functions to a transitional government.

“I am in my house and I have not left, and this is because of my belonging to this country,” Jalili said in a video statement. He said he would go to his office to continue work in the morning and called on Syrian citizens not to deface public property. He did not address reports that Assad had left the country.

Rami Abdurrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told The Associated Press that Assad took a flight Sunday from Damascus.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/syria-assad-sweida-daraa-homs-hts-qatar-7f65823bbf0a7bd331109e8dff419430

More Here:
https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-gaza-lebanon-news-7-december-2024-53419e23991cfc14a7857c82f49eb26f
Middle East latest: Syria’s government appears to fall after lightning offensive by insurgents

33 replies

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Syrian government appears to have fallen in stunning end to 50-year rule of Assad family (Original Post) FakeNoose Dec 7 OP

will tulsi gabbard be in deepest mourning? nt msongs Dec 8 #1

All tyrants fall. Trump and Putin should take note. Initech Dec 8 #2

Exactly and they don't last even as long Farmer-Rick Dec 8 #26

Seeing his plane was downed, that would mean the end if true. nt yaesu Dec 8 #3

If true . . . Aussie105 Dec 8 #6

Reminds me of that guy in Russia who's plane *accidently* exploded recently. cstanleytech Dec 8 #8

Yevgeny Prigozhin - putin's chef onetexan Dec 8 #23

If it's confirmed his plane went down. duncang Dec 8 #10

That's what i'm thinking - the tracking device was deactivated onetexan Dec 8 #24

Khamenei probably has a furnished apartment all ready for Assad. LudwigPastorius Dec 8 #4

Assad's Assad is Grassad. Sneederbunk Dec 8 #5

lol i see what you did there TalenaGor Dec 8 #14

I did, too, but it took me a minute. calimary Dec 8 #29

Not really a good thing considering the insurgents are much worse ColinC Dec 8 #7

Adios, fucko! JoseBalow Dec 8 #9

Watching some videos from over there. duncang Dec 8 #11

Assad's plane may be down LetMyPeopleVote Dec 8 #12

Yikes LeftInTX Dec 8 #16

No kidding! calimary Dec 8 #33

1 PM Sunday update - BBC reports that Assad is in Moscow FakeNoose Dec 8 #30

Glad to see putin was hurt by this, but Abu Mohammad al-Jolani sounds pretty scary. C Moon Dec 8 #13

Doesn't look very promising. rubbersole Dec 8 #15

Let's hope...those rebels are hezbollah PortTack Dec 8 #17

Huh? No, Hezbollah supported Assad. They're both Shia. HTS is Sunni, an Al Qaeda offshoot muriel_volestrangler Dec 8 #19

K & R! Thanks for this background information FakeNoose Dec 8 #27

This is really bad for putin. Syria was his only ally in the ME, and he loses his only Mediterranean shipping port.. PortTack Dec 8 #18

Bad for Iran as well. It cuts off their access to Hezbolla in Lebanon. onetexan Dec 8 #25

The insurgents are on a roll. I wonder if they'll stop at current borders, ... JustABozoOnThisBus Dec 8 #20

They can try to take the Golan Heights area from Israel, MarineCombatEngineer Dec 8 #22

Israel actually just captured Syrian territory on their side of the Golan Heights. Elessar Zappa Dec 8 #31

Who did they capture it from? Were the rebels in the area? Or remnants of Assad's army? JustABozoOnThisBus Dec 8 #32

BBC World Service is doing remarkable extended Mike 03 Dec 8 #21

Snowden, Assange and Greenwald were unavailable for comment Blue_Tires Dec 8 #28

msongs

(70,275 posts)

1. will tulsi gabbard be in deepest mourning? nt

Reply to FakeNoose (Original post)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 12:00 AM

Dec 8

Initech

(102,511 posts)

2. All tyrants fall. Trump and Putin should take note.

Reply to FakeNoose (Original post)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 12:04 AM

Dec 8

Farmer-Rick

(11,538 posts)

26. Exactly and they don't last even as long

Reply to Initech (Reply #2)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 09:07 AM

Dec 8

As American Democracy had lasted.

yaesu

(8,356 posts)

3. Seeing his plane was downed, that would mean the end if true. nt

Reply to FakeNoose (Original post)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 12:13 AM

Dec 8

Aussie105

(6,467 posts)

6. If true . . .

Reply to yaesu (Reply #3)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 12:41 AM

Dec 8

Could be!
https://www.freepressjournal.in/world/syrian-president-bashar-al-assads-plane-shot-down-say-unconfirmed-reports

A dictator's plane going down 'accidentally'?

Not the first time, really.

cstanleytech

(27,176 posts)

8. Reminds me of that guy in Russia who's plane *accidently* exploded recently.

Reply to Aussie105 (Reply #6)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 12:57 AM

Dec 8

onetexan

(13,913 posts)

23. Yevgeny Prigozhin - putin's chef

Reply to cstanleytech (Reply #8)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 08:58 AM

Dec 8

duncang

(3,729 posts)

10. If it's confirmed his plane went down.

Reply to yaesu (Reply #3)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 01:07 AM

Dec 8

I don’t know if it actually means he was in it. It would be easier to go into hiding if everyone thought he was dead.

onetexan

(13,913 posts)

24. That's what i'm thinking - the tracking device was deactivated

Reply to duncang (Reply #10)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 08:59 AM

Dec 8

LudwigPastorius

(11,072 posts)

4. Khamenei probably has a furnished apartment all ready for Assad.

Reply to FakeNoose (Original post)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 12:28 AM

Dec 8

Sneederbunk

(15,392 posts)

5. Assad's Assad is Grassad.

Reply to FakeNoose (Original post)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 12:38 AM

Dec 8

TalenaGor

(1,129 posts)

14. lol i see what you did there

Reply to Sneederbunk (Reply #5)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 01:58 AM

Dec 8

calimary

(84,606 posts)

29. I did, too, but it took me a minute.

Reply to TalenaGor (Reply #14)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 01:03 PM

Dec 8

ColinC

(10,943 posts)

7. Not really a good thing considering the insurgents are much worse

Reply to FakeNoose (Original post)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 12:54 AM

Dec 8

Generally speaking...

JoseBalow

(5,630 posts)

9. Adios, fucko!

Reply to FakeNoose (Original post)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 01:03 AM

Dec 8

duncang

(3,729 posts)

11. Watching some videos from over there.

Reply to FakeNoose (Original post)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 01:12 AM

Dec 8

Customs at an airport had already deserted their posts. Looked like a last flight was getting ready to leave and people scrambling to it hoping to get on. Those people along with others who already left were likely government officials or employees and their families.

LetMyPeopleVote

(155,514 posts)

12. Assad's plane may be down

Reply to FakeNoose (Original post)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 01:22 AM

Dec 8

Last edited Sun Dec 8, 2024, 12:13 PM - Edit history (1)

Link to tweet

LeftInTX

(30,594 posts)

16. Yikes

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Reply #12)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 03:20 AM

Dec 8

calimary

(84,606 posts)

33. No kidding!

Reply to LeftInTX (Reply #16)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 11:26 PM

Dec 8

FakeNoose

(36,003 posts)

30. 1 PM Sunday update - BBC reports that Assad is in Moscow

Reply to LetMyPeopleVote (Reply #12)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 01:12 PM

Dec 8

His plane made it to Moscow, and Assad is given asylum by Putin. Lots going on over there.
Here's a current link to BBC live broadcast:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world/middle_east

C Moon

(12,604 posts)

13. Glad to see putin was hurt by this, but Abu Mohammad al-Jolani sounds pretty scary.

Reply to FakeNoose (Original post)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 01:55 AM

Dec 8

rubbersole

(8,697 posts)

15. Doesn't look very promising.

Reply to C Moon (Reply #13)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 02:05 AM

Dec 8

Shits about to get real. The 'rebels' appear to be reasonable if news reports are correct.

PortTack

(34,830 posts)

17. Let's hope...those rebels are hezbollah

Reply to rubbersole (Reply #15)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 03:28 AM

Dec 8

muriel_volestrangler

(102,693 posts)

19. Huh? No, Hezbollah supported Assad. They're both Shia. HTS is Sunni, an Al Qaeda offshoot

Reply to PortTack (Reply #17)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 04:06 AM

Dec 8

It's Hezbollah's weakness after the Lebanon fighting with Israel that has opened up the chance for HTS to do this so quickly.

What everyone's trying to figure out is what HTS and its leader really are like, after the split with Al Qaeda. Was that meaningful, or just a strategic rebranding as "Syrian nationalist"?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8j99447gj1o

The founder of HTS, Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, was once a participant in the Iraqi insurgency against the US as a member of the group that eventually became Islamic State.

In its former incarnation as Jabhat al-Nusra or the Al-Nusra front, HTS later declared allegiance to al-Qaida. It eventually publicly broke those ties in 2016 and rebranded as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, or Organization for the Liberation of the Levant.

HTS is now the most powerful rebel faction in Syria.

It is designated as a terrorist group by the US and there are serious human rights concerns in the area it controls, including executions for those accused of affiliation with rival groups and over allegations of blasphemy and adultery.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/08/who-are-the-syrian-rebels-who-have-captured-damascus-explained-in-30-seconds

Note that, confusingly, the "Syrian National Army" is a Turkish-backed militia, not Assad's forces.

FakeNoose

(36,003 posts)

27. K & R! Thanks for this background information

Reply to muriel_volestrangler (Reply #19)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 12:28 PM

Dec 8

I can't follow all this without a good cheat sheet.

PortTack

(34,830 posts)

18. This is really bad for putin. Syria was his only ally in the ME, and he loses his only Mediterranean shipping port..

Reply to FakeNoose (Original post)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 03:30 AM

Dec 8

onetexan

(13,913 posts)

25. Bad for Iran as well. It cuts off their access to Hezbolla in Lebanon.

Reply to PortTack (Reply #18)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 09:04 AM

Dec 8

JustABozoOnThisBus

(23,825 posts)

20. The insurgents are on a roll. I wonder if they'll stop at current borders, ...

Reply to FakeNoose (Original post)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 04:34 AM

Dec 8

... or keep going to re-take the Golan Heights area from Israel. And after that, ...

MarineCombatEngineer

(14,462 posts)

22. They can try to take the Golan Heights area from Israel,

Reply to JustABozoOnThisBus (Reply #20)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 07:54 AM

Dec 8

but they'd lose big time.

Elessar Zappa

(16,077 posts)

31. Israel actually just captured Syrian territory on their side of the Golan Heights.

Reply to JustABozoOnThisBus (Reply #20)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 04:43 PM

Dec 8

JustABozoOnThisBus

(23,825 posts)

32. Who did they capture it from? Were the rebels in the area? Or remnants of Assad's army?

Reply to Elessar Zappa (Reply #31)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 05:59 PM

Dec 8

Or did they just establish outposts near the border? I think Israel is calling it a "buffer zone".

However, Israeli buffer zones seem to attract developers to build settlements on the vacant land. Israel may have just opened another front on this war.

Mike 03

(17,363 posts)

21. BBC World Service is doing remarkable extended

Reply to FakeNoose (Original post)

Sun Dec 8, 2024, 04:40 AM

Dec 8

coverage if anyone is interested.

I think this is the fourth hour.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_world_service