In pictures: Syrians celebrate the apparent fall of Assad government

Syrians celebrate the arrival of opposition fighters in Damascus, Syria on Sunday. Credit: AP

Crowds of Syrians have gathered to celebrate the apparent fall of the Assad government in the central squares of Damascus early on Sunday.

Many chanted anti-Assad slogans and honked car horns, and in some areas celebratory gunshots could be heard.

Syrians celebrate the arrival of opposition fighters in Damascus. Credit: AP

People gathered in mosques to pray as day broke and many chanted: "God is great".

“My feelings are indescribable,” Omar Daher, a 29-year-old lawyer said. “After the fear that he (President Bashar al-Assad) and his father made us live in for many years, and the panic and state of terror that I was living in, I can’t believe it.”

Syrians celebrating late into the night after rebels arrive in the country's capital. Credit: AP

Daher said his father had been killed by security forces and his brother was in detention, his fate unknown. Assad “is a criminal, a tyrant and a dog,” he said.

Soldiers and police officers had left their posts and fled, and looters broke into the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence.

Many of the capital’s residents were in disbelief at the speed with which Assad’s hold on the country had fallen after nearly 14 years of civil war.

Syrian opposition fighters ride along the streets in the aftermath of the opposition's takeover of Hama on Friday. Credit: AP

“I did not sleep last night and I did not accept to sleep until I heard the news of his fall,” Mohammed Amer Al-Oulabi, 44, said. “From Idlib to Damascus, it only took them (the opposition forces) a few days, thank God. May God bless them, the heroic lions who made us proud.”

Rebel forces in Syria launched their largest offensive against the country's government in years in the last week, putting the Assad family's 53-year hold on power under threat.

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On November 26, the opposition group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched a surprise attack on government-held areas of Aleppo - Syria's second-biggest city - cutting off the main road from Aleppo city to Damascus.

Residents celebrate the fall of the capital Damascus to opposition forces. Credit: AP

It was considered to be the most significant escalation in the conflict in Syria since March 2020, and Russia and Syria launched airstrikes in response.

By Thursday they had taken Hama in the south, which has never fallen in 13 years of fighting. They then took the city of Homs, which is on route to Syria's capital, Damascus.

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