what's been happening, but since we are kind of marching through it and then let me just come back to you on the issue of the story. and president bush also had some report suggesting that he has left the country in fact. so i'm looking at a re, a low to which we are getting it out to 0 saying to senior, serve you in the office to say the suing president has left damascus to an unknown destination. if it's true, what's the significance of this? and then who's running the country as well? yes. first of all, apologies for the connection as we are trying to make our way to the must of border crossing between 11 on and, and sir, yeah, no doubt, it would be significant that bizarre and i've had a man who has been rolling syria since 2000 and since taking over from his late father has left, we don't know if he left syria, eh, we don't know if he moved to the coast. so hard land, the provinces of the lot, the t a and tar tools where so which really is the hard lines before the regime.

the support base is support base where the white community lives. now it would not be correct to say every i liked, supported by, sorry, i said this was a, at the end of the day, there were those who were benefiting from, from the regime. and you know, this is why, you know, some with some would say, you know, the past few years it was a secretary and a secretary and conflict sundays versus lives. the minority lights who were in high ranking positions, whether in the governments or whether in the army, but there were also others from other sex who are benefiting from the regime or minorities who were afraid from the, from the alternative. and that's why they stayed supporting the syrian president. so he might be there or he might have left the serial altogether. but what is clear is that, i'm sorry,

i said doesn't have much friends. even his allies failed to support him. they failed to save him. this time around they did in the past, but few years ago we saw a ron and, and it's ally has the law and thousands of troops across the board of elaborate on to help the, the syrian president, the of fight, the opposition to advance. and then in 2015, when the virginian was app is most bottom about point of the russian military intervene carrying out air strikes, stopping revel advances. and so this time around we did not see his allies mobilized. it wasn't clear whether they were not able to do so because all of them. 1 bogged down in their own conflicts weekend, bye bye, by their own conflicts has beloved by coming under is really attack russia bog down

and in ukraine, or whether they were unwilling and unwilling to do so. so she really didn't have much choice, especially when he sees the syrian army, the men that are supposed to protect him, his state, a largely fleet and, and not to put up a fight. we have to remember many, many of the army soldiers were forced to join the ranks of the syrian army. i can tell you that many serious men, young man who are 11 on, are here simply because they do not want to be in syria, to be forcibly conscripted in an army that they say is being used to fight their own brothers. so he failed to, uh, rebuild a loyal army, and to a large extent, we have to mention that back in 2011, his army was not very loyal as well. there were certain divisions that did not the sect, but he saw a lot of the sections and the start of the conflict after the popular uprising

turned into an armed conflict. when the government carried out the harsh campaign against the peaceful protesters in the streets. so no doubt, this is a good many are saying that this is really the beginning of the end of the us dynastee, the syrian opposition claiming a victory. this is a new big you get a new beginning for, for a country that has been a n for a people really who have been struggling for a new beginning. yeah, i'm saying are you what you were telling us earlier when you about reports of prisoners being released from the notorious state? now a ministry present that's about 30 kilometers outside damascus. so it's, it's worth reminding, i'll be with the opposition fighters. i've been releasing prisoners and old main cities that they've taken to. yes, they are, and we can talk about a new syria, a new syria, free of, of charlotte, a subs regime. but of it is the freedom of these syrians solvents of

them who are locked up in government run detention facilities across the country. so without trials, without charge, without access to lawyers, that many of them without access or to the, to their own families, their families don't know if they were allowed. a or if they were dead and the most notorious prison of them all, this, it may a prison in damascus of the rebels have managed to open the gates. slauson suff, people flooding into the streets. families rushing to see whether or not their son or even their daughters. some prisons had women for it, but they, they were imprisoned simply because they were involved in the peaceful protest movement. so families trying to find out whether their loved ones are still alive.

this, this is a, the issue of enforce disappearances. tens of thousands of syrians, a missing over the years was really at the heart of the conflict. it was the manner in which is the result of all right. let me jump in very quick of that because things are moving pretty fast. here we've, we've, we've got the latest pictures of a syrian prime minister talking on state tv and a probably he's been saying that he's prepared to work with anyone who the people vote and just talk to us about him. and i'm, i'm the chain of come on now who was in power if us out as going well, if also there's go on and you will have the prime minister who would be and next in power. it is quite significant that he did not the fact or he did not leave the country or maybe he does. 2 have the opportunity, he did not have the opportunity to sleep, but may be because yesterday that we can only speculate at this point in time. what kind of a transition is going to play out in in the syrian capital. but yesterday,

there was a statement by the syrian opposition saying that there will be surprises in the heart of the syrian capital. what those surprises are, we, we, we don't know. could it mean that they were in touch with the officials or heads of intelligence agencies or heads of the certain divisions in the army and that, that they had reassurances that once the armed rebels reach the capital they would get support from within the regime in order to avoid or to ensure an orderly transition because of you know that there have been examples in the past. a there were no orderly transitions and countries which with just uprisings and may be, maybe the opposition learn from those past mistakes. i can, i could bring into example libya, for example. so may be,

there was some sort of cooperation. again, we can only speculate at this point in time. the members of the government were usually not, you know, key figures in, in, in the regime oper right? this, if you like, yes you had, you know, the state institutions. but you also have. 5 the institutions in syria, which were more loyal to the, to the regime, certain individuals, the, in the regime. you had a division of the army loyal to the president's brother. i heard a said, you didn't have that that a state in the full sense of the word states. so may be these, these officials within the government of will be acceptable figure as with the opposition. and so it is too early to see to say, you know, the transition of power in damascus. what exactly is going to happen? but i can only imagine that with this lightning advanced by the rebels, this,

this unity because the very fact that the rebels, the rebel groups from many years were fragmented. they were not the unified, they were not speaking in one voice. they may have had one at a me, but they had different ideologies. they all have different visions of a future, syria, what the future syria would look like. they even had different flags who had some groups of carrying the, the free syrian army flag, the so called revolutionary flag. you had others carrying this lummus the flag. so now you have a unified rebel combined. i can only imagine that they had to take it into account on what will. 6 pin once they make their way into the seat of. 5 the political capital once once they are in, in, in, in control of, of damascus. and then let me get the final thoughts here. let me go find

a quick searches and because with this we have a load of them all the guess we need to speak to. but, but if i just say damascus is full and then it's the end, the upside version of him. how does this change the balance of power re engineering? how much of a major blow is this to me, ron, and its influence across the region to this is a blow to iran, shifting a, the balance of power changing in the favor of the opposition would mean iran losing syria as some a some kind. 5 of base. a head militarily and. a itself in syria, along with its allies, it was an important trends that the routes for its regional network and the so called to run land core door that link that round to bagdad from baghdad to damascus, to be rude. it was a way of providing supplies weapons to its regional allies across the region yesterday when the rocky border was taken over by the. 1

curtis lead as the forces and of course you have that american base and kind of along the rocky syria border. you are basically a ceiling off of this, this land core door. so no doubt that this, this will change the balance of power, the region. we cannot forget 10 days ago a cease fire was agreed 11 on, but it severely weakened a has the law as well. so it is not only a new beginning for syria. we are seeing also a good what could be a new beginning for the region. all right, so how does the reserves in a hold of their reporting live from the liberties capital battery would have caused bedroom 11 on neighbors, syria giving us context of the dramatic developments happening next door in survey . let's go by phone now to the syrian capital damascus. whether we're a resident of mom or run me, i can tell us what he's witnessing on the ground that most of these extraordinary pictures were sitting on tv screens of people celebrating in the streets of the

capital of opposition. non groups celebrating firing, guns. tell us what you've been seeing that where are you on? what are you seeing? the lower one i'm hearing damascus. i'm in the case of being st. and 1st of all, we started to hear a bomb being and a lot of phone being, shooting lot of or making sure thing the are fighting with what, what's left of a federal gain. many are trying to enter the northcutt's and they have indeed entered domestic once. they entered a for one in the country, everyone in the city in damascus. every one of one of the was that god is the day this god is great. they are announcing the big city over. ready the shuttle that they are announcing, the big city issue started can ugly period of time that we've,

we've always we've all so after 15 or 14 years of kim and a few weeks down to any respond julians live jillions for the resolution for those didn't kill us in the, in the beginning, in the beginning of the pollution, they said, you either have a fit for improvement on we burn, you know, the pictures of the sugar is burning, aggravating, damascus and interior. and we can be reached one every one in the streets shouting of the double loans along the freedom freedom. we are here in the slogans on the north of the login. no, i judge you nothing. just 2 words. ready one is

a long talk is great. the other one is freedom. freedom. we've got our freedom from the show that i said everyone is shouting right now. i'm hearing shoddy. i'm doing now. i'm hearing children in my neighborhood and stayed in for you them for you to that. they were raised in the end in raleigh. i'm been in a very ugly white. i've had the tungsten, now here we stand on here. he comes home. i left the runaway. yeah. oh wow, there were there was some report suggesting that the elements of the syrian army and security forces had left the airport at damascus. have you heard anything about that? about. ready can you say that again? there was, there was some report suggesting the elements of the serial nami and security forces that were based at the airport half now left. what are you hearing about that? yeah,

the image like now is very. ready laid out to get there. you take the bulk of the, during the army is left, they all they have for one a. now we have some remain me in the streets of damascus. they are now fighting the rebels. but the very basic units go through the fear environment. they are old, don't know, they are as a runaway mostly to the coast to attempt to on testers. but they are still some remaining soldiers, but the 2 are fighting variables, right? i'm not in the police square, which is the basic square in damascus there. and those are the, the songs and down symbol of the people are there. there's no trace for to shoot me an army in any main street or ski. ready in damascus

right now, we are hating, 2 things on funding and in the needle. they are far away from the, from the base of the main streets of the month because, so the syrian army is now not in the office of the state army. it's just 2 meanings of the on. yeah. so you're saying is no longer at a fit fighting force and many of the assets of the syrian how many have left the capital . i'm about how many are we have to leave that? so thank you very much. indeed. for updating us about what you're seeing and hearing in the serial well, 13 years of war. and so we have killed more than 350000 people, just based millions of tool in the country a part. let's take a look at some of the key turning points in the conflict when it will began with peaceful protests and damascus. on that uh yes,

on the government's violent response led to an uprising. the conflict intensified with the battle of aleppo, opposition forces captured large box of the city. the city and army recaptured it or 4 years later. in 2013 a chemical weapons attack and east and who killed hundreds of civilians and it prompted international condemnation. annette to syria, agreeing to destroy its chemical weapons stockpile i. so the toyota caliphate across syria and iraq off the capturing large swathes of territory. rocca became that de facto capital in syria, and the rain lasted until 2019 for russia. then began direct ministry intervention in support of by shaw, unless the russian strikes help turn the tide in favor of government forces. the us then go to involve launching this all strikes against government targets in response to a chemical weapons attack in hon. shake, who in the conflict as long as you become a frozen one over the past 4 years until groups launched in operation last week

from it live that's bringing steven zooms. he's a professor of politics at university of san francisco and founding chair of the university's middle eastern study to joins us live from san francisco. seem good to have you with us. so we seem to have domestic pictures of position fighters in the capital, damascus. some reports now you've been suggesting that aside himself, has fled the situation. astute, obviously not clear, but whatever the case, i mean, this revel offensive has been extremely quick, extremely rapid. i'm focus to why it's happened also a quick. and i think what we're seeing is something that similarly took place and the final week. so the more and the final weeks of the us back government, i gamma stand that ultimately, you know, whatever the military balance may be on paper or whatever strings the government may seem to have in terms of foreign support and, and weaponry and training and whatever. if the machine doesn't have the support of the people, it really ultimately doesn't have power. just power ultimately rest on the

willingness of people to obey it. and with soldiers are tearing off their uniforms and leaving their positions. it doesn't take a whole lot for a rebel army to advance. i mean, indeed, there are some indications that the, the, the initial uh h s t attack up and it live was an unlimited thing in response to a recent uh, error strike. but when they saw how quickly the steering positions melted away, they figured they figured they can see how far they could go and they have gone all the way. it says, quite remarkable. yeah. and what about the syrian president himself? it opens the reports and he said the country, but of course he had very limited options available to him with events we overtaking him a very much so is either that or, or possibly find himself hanging in from a lamp post. i mean, seriously, uh, in fact, i mean, as soon as i heard that the, the syrians troops had withdrawn from the airport. i figure that was enough

evidence that he, that he and, and at least some of his cronies had, had, had flooded. and now it is a, he was, he was very smart in terms of saving his own skin. so to leave it here was this bluster of, oh, we will, we'll tech homes at least, oh, no, we'll protect damascus. but uh and you know, some people fear there could be a big final battle there, but, but not, not enough, not in the least because i think part of it was not just the idea of the salt from the north, but the uprising and our on and in areas in the south, many of these are, we're not even are the, these are the kind of civil insurrection and popular committees that we saw in the early phase of the revolution. so there was, there's a lot of attention on the arm, you know, forces around sar. the fact is, this is very much a people's revolution. i'm seeing in terms of the military dynamic come in. this looks like a complete route of the serial. now, i mean, they don't seem to put up any kind of effective fight against opposition forces

that's pretty surprising, isn't it? yeah it's, i mean, i think it's more of a, it's more of a political collapse the military uh, the fees because there really wasn't much any way of any kind of outright battles. let's remember that it was, it was, has the law and a few a leads ringing back in the leisure that did a lot of the actual ground warfare. and of course, it was russian aircraft to that did much of the, of the aerial bombardment of this. the only thing is, frankly, the capt. aside from power, as long as he has been, he would have been defeated years ago. but when you don't have those kind of the, a ground forces to support you or you don't have the air support, it's up to your own troops and these people are mostly conscripts. these people have, have a laser people, young, young man who come of age at a point where you have increasing poverty and inflation of corruption. and you know that and not to mention the ongoing repression. and you know,

they had the thing is this worth fighting and dying for. and it's pretty apparent that most of them beside know was not. and what about serious key allies? i mean, russia, iran, you know, reports that it runs proxy has been out of the group, have been seen pulling out that forces along the lebanese border. and russia seems to be looking for some kind of diplomatic off from pollution. they haven't effectively abandoned that side of life. and i think they basically, so i'll be riding on the wall that it was, it was, uh, it was a, you know, like a poor and all the support. but again, if you didn't have the kind of support from the people themselves, i mean that's what, that's what by and ultimately decide to do. and how can i stand that it was it? essentially, it was a ponzi scheme that deal sooner or later is when it collapse, and it wasn't worth it for them to continue propping them up. now obviously, russia is distracted by ukraine. most of it is a fire aircraft. it is back in europe and not no longer in syria. and

so obviously it has blocks has been a devastated from a month. so there's really a bombardment and, and trying to consolidate what's left of their forces in lebanon. and they weren't that much available anymore. and around it was really the only only country that really seemed to have a stake in the means of, of, of supporting them. but i think even them even day notice to them and recognize that the assad was not, not someone who could uh, uh, you know, stay in power of very long. and with just because of the he is, he was just that had did not, frankly, not have support of that and people are testing. and soon as professor politics at university of san francisco, stephen really goods get your thoughts and you and i was just thank you very much indeed for talking to us america. just joining us here on out to 0 opposition forces of declared the end of president bush, alas, as ruled up to 13 years of the civil war elliot road. the reuters news agency

reported that the lead a roof for 24 years and actually left a capital damascus. when a few hours ago rebel forces that amounts they entered damascus. they also said they've taken over the cities airport on the state tv building. the syrian prime minister says the government was ready to handle the power to any leadership chosen by the people with moments before opposition fighters to control to the airport. open source flight fact as recorded a single plane in so in the space, an illusion. 76 that are off with flight number that syrian that 9218, was the last flight to take off from the mask us 1st. it flew east, then 10 north in a few minutes late. it's signal disappeared, as it circled over pumps. let's begin. i'll just as grace also dies in god's yen set, that's on the turkish border with syria at raphael. so dramatic pictures we're seeing on our screen. serbian fights is entering the capital reports of the syrian president on a plane heading out of the country. what have you been hearing, rachel, they on the board to about what's happening in the capital as well

. know what you're seeing is actually in that sounds like a kind of an end of the side to diagnose these rules or 50 full years. just to remember president the shuttle side of syria has been sworn in in the year 2000 so 24 years ago. and just before him, his father to power in 1917. so 20 his ruled of his father and 24 years of himself. in total, more than half a century, now, it is coming to an end practically. so the position forces up to take him the, the, the, the, the, the, the control off of a level on the 27th of november. and now they've got the, the, how much they've got the homes and eventually they're taking over the capital of damascus. so we're seeing now that the, the, the government's forces,

the tubes are simply taken all of the uniforms getting the civilian grasses. and also, many of them are now so rendering themselves and you're seeing that there is no resistance know in the capital. so the have gone through of the military's active. so the, the national defense ministry is emptied. and just we have heard 2 statements. one of them is coming from the prime minister of for, for syria and saying that she has not left and whoever is going to be the new leadership, they are ready to corporate and just read minutes often that they heard another statement from the lead off age the as a warm, i'm at the end of july the, so the she has that is taking over the cities and know damascus and caught him on his soldiers. he's fighters saying that do not storm into the that the government buildings and make sure that the government buildings are still going to be around

by design ministry of the, on faith. so when we look at this 2 statements, it seems that there is a where the kind of coordination between h d has the physician that is now taking over practically taken over to damascus and the prime minister in depth. let me just jump in there for one moment. let me show right one more quick arms, one more click on. so how was your there in a turkey boat? it would syria very quickly. right. so how was incorrect doing? what's happening here? well, so far there is no official of course, reaction of new position facing the control of damascus because it's jewelry i've ever yesterday and the day before present ad, one of try to keep sending out messages again. again, i'm simply saying that turkey is supporting the advent of the position. okay. all right, so thank you. and we will just come back to man, because we just offer something we haven't done that actually has it for me down in

jordan, for now we'll leave you with these pictures from the syrian capital damascus, where opposition fighters by claiming control the the one 3rd of all of the food for you is to wasted, which tens of thousands of put outlets fell in south korea has been transformed from west defender is to build a leader in for the recycling i the reporting on how new technology is making this

possible and can yeah, i mean, the problem of uncertainty. what do you have? do you think just for the labor? no, it's depends on a new place. us phrase, or just the limits to have a dream contained to study in your own adventure now counter. and we all through a decade of honoring individuals and institutions working and translation between arabic and 40 other world language is shay come towards the translation. and international understanding is hosting. it's 10 towards serve. on the 10th of

december 2024 in doha, tom shay come on the award for translation and international understanding. from the arabic language to mankind, the serious president bush auto satisfied the capitalized opposition financed into damascus and declared the end of his room. the other ones are enjoying the continuing coverage of product developments in syria earlier opposition fights as to controlling of home city known as the capital of the revolution. and syrians react to the opposition of thought.