- Russia says Bashar al-Assad decided to resign from presidency.
- Adds ousted president instructed for peaceful transfer of power.
- Moscow extremely worried by events in Syria: foreign ministry.
As Syrian rebels announced a curfew in Damascus after ousting the Syrian president, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that Bashar al-Assad had left office and departed the country after giving orders there be a peaceful handover of power.
In a statement, the ministry did not say where Assad was now and said Russia has not taken part in the talks around his departure.
“Russia did not participate in these negotiations,” the ministry said.
Moscow was extremely worried by events in Syria and urged all sides to refrain from violence, it said.
“We urge all parties involved to refrain from the use of violence and to resolve all issues of governance through political means,” the statement said.
“In that regard, the Russian Federation is in contact with all groups of the Syrian opposition.”
It said Russia’s military bases in Syria had been put on a state of high alert, but that there was no serious threat to them at the current time.
It said it was also doing all it could to ensure the safety of Russian citizens in Syria, whom the embassy on Friday advised to leave the country. The Russian Embassy in Damascus told the state TASS news agency on Sunday that its staff were “fine”.
Meanwhile, Syrian rebels announced a curfew in Damascus starting 4pm local time until 5am.
Assad, who had crushed all forms of dissent, flew out of Damascus for an unknown destination earlier on Sunday, two senior army officers told Reuters, as rebels said they had entered the capital with no sign of army deployments.
This statement came amid reports claiming Assad’s possible death in a Syrian Air plane crash.
The flight took off from Damascus airport around the time the capital was reported to have been taken by rebels, according to data from the Flightradar website.
The aircraft initially flew towards Syria’s coastal region, a stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect, but then made an abrupt U-turn and flew in the opposite direction for a few minutes before disappearing off the map, suggested foreign media reports.
Assad had not spoken in public since the sudden rebel advance a week ago, when insurgents seized northern Aleppo in a surprise attack before marching into a succession of cities as frontlines crumbled.
Syrians stroll through Assad’s palaces
Groups of Syrians strolled through the palaces of President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday following his ouster, wandering from room to room, posing for photographs, and with some taking items of furniture or ornaments.
Video obtained by Reuters showed people entering the Al-Rawda Presidential Palace, as children ran through the grand rooms and men slid a large trunk across the ornate floor.
Several men carried smart chairs over their shoulders. In a storeroom, cupboards had been ransacked and objects strewn across the floor.
Video of another palace, the Muhajreen Palace, verified by Reuters, showed groups of men and women walking across a white marble floor and through tall wooden doors. A man carried a vase in his hand, and a large cabinet stood empty with its doors ajar.
Assad’s ouster
Syrian rebels declared President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster after seizing control of Damascus on Sunday, ending his family’s rule after more than 13 years of civil war in a seismic moment for the Middle East.
The rebels also dealt a major blow to the influence of Russia and Iran in the region, key allies who propped up Assad during critical moments in the civil war.
Syria’s army command notified officers on Sunday that Assad’s regime had ended, a Syrian officer who was informed of the move told Reuters.
“We celebrate with the Syrian people the news of freeing our prisoners and releasing their chains and announcing the end of the era of injustice in Sednaya prison,” the rebels said, referring to a large jail on the outskirts of Damascus where the Syrian government detained thousands.
The Syrian rebel coalition said on Sunday it is continuing work to complete the transfer of power in Syria to a transitional governing body with full executive powers.
Thousands in cars and on foot congregated at a main square in Damascus waving and chanting “Freedom” from a half century of Assad family rule, witnesses said.
The dramatic collapse also marks a dramatic moment for the Middle East, undermining Russia and Iran, which have lost a key ally at the heart of the region and creating more uncertainty as the war in the Middle East rages.
