A PLANE vanished off radar as ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad fled Syria – with his location now unknown.
It comes after the dictator’s government was overthrown by rebels that seized the capital in a lightning blitz and declared victory on Saturday.
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It marks the end to Assad’s cruel 24-year rule of the country with rebels now hunting for the deposed tyrant.
Conflicting reports of his location have emerged – with Assad making no announcement.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed humiliated Assad stepped down as president, fled the country, and begged for a “peaceful transfer” of power.
But one flight vanished just as opposition forces stormed Damascus – sparking rumours it had been shot down.
A Syrian Air plane took off from Damascus airport and flew towards Syria‘s coastal region, a stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect.
It comes as…
- Rebels say Damascus is now ‘free of Assad’ as thousands take to streets of capital
- Assad leaves Syrian capital on plane for unknown destination
- Rebel commander says they have seized control of Homs – the country’s third biggest city
- Syria’s Prime Minister says he is ‘ready to hand over power’ as he’s escorted from home by rebels
- Israel deploys forces to UN-monitored buffer zone of the Golan Heights but ‘won’t interfere’
- Trump says US should have ‘nothing to do’ with Syrian uprising
The flight made an abrupt U-turn over Homs and flew in the opposite direction for a few minutes before disappearing off radar.
The cause of its disappearance has not been confirmed with the likelihood that it turned off its transponder.
Reuters could not immediately ascertain who was on board the Ilyushin Il-76T – a type of plane used by the Russian military.
The flight dropped off radar at 5.29am – 40 minutes after takeoff – with altitude data showing it made a descent.
Two Syrian sources suggested Assad may have been killed in a crash after the surprise U-turn and plunging altitude.
One source said: “It disappeared off the radar, possibly the transponder was switched off, but I believe the bigger probability is that the aircraft was taken down.”
In a statement, Flightradar24 said the plane’s signal was lost near Homs – but that could be because of an older transponder.
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They said: “The aircraft was flying in an area of GPS jamming, so some data might be bad.”
It’s also possible the pilots turned off the transponder.
Report claimed Assad flew to the Russian-operated Khmeimim Air Base in a part of Syria still loyal to the regime.
Others speculated Assad could have managed to fly to the UAE or crossed the border into Iraq – which his brother Vitin did.
Rebels are now hunting for the cruel dictator – notorious for nerve gas attacks on children in 2013.
Syria’s army command confirmed Assad’s rule is over – while rebels said Damascus is now “free”.
There has been no official statement from Assad’s government.
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Fighters have posted footage from inside Assad’s presidential palace as they celebrate their stunning win.
They can be seen looting the building, sitting at desks used by the regime only hours before, and taking selfies in the gilded halls.
In a statement read out on Syrian TV, rebel fighters declared victory and said: “Long live Syria, free and proud for all Syrians of all sects.
“The city of Damascus has been liberated, the tyrant Bashar al-Assad has been overthrown, and all unjustly detained prisoners have been released from the regime’s prisons.”
Statues of the Assad family have been toppled around the country with a bust of Hafez being decapitated late Saturday.
A golden statue of Assad was torn down and ridden by rebels as it was pulled by a truck.
Meanwhile, Syria’s prime minister said he was ready to hand over power.
Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali was seen leaving his home flanked by rebel fighters with AK-47s.
Reports said al-Jalali was headed to the rebels’ headquarters in Damascus to begin the transition of power to the victorious militants.
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In an earlier video statement, he said: “The matter is up to any leadership chosen by the people and we are ready to cooperate and all the properties of the people and the institutions of the Syrian state must be preserved.
“I hope all Syrians think rationally about the interests of their country.”
In a victory statement, rebels congratulated the country on overthrowing Assad.
The Syrian National Coalition said: “The great Syrian revolution has broken decades of tyranny and oppression, giving birth to a new Syria.
“Today, it has moved from the struggle to overthrow the Assad regime to the struggle to build a Syria that honours the sacrifices of its people.”
It also declared a commitment to transfer power to a transitional governing body and aim “for a free, democratic, and pluralistic Syria”.
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Rebel fighters attacking from the south arrived in Damascus yesterday after quickly advancing through the countryside.
Last night, opposition forces also seized control the key city of Homs, Syria’s third largest, as government forces abandoned it.
The victories are the culmination of the offensive launched on November 27 that quickly captured territory in the north of the country.
Regime forces appeared to melt away against the offensive which attacked in a coordination fashion from the north and south.
In response to Assad’s ouster, neighbouring countries are responding.
Russia is now withdrawing its ships from its Tartus Naval Base and transferring weapons back to the country by plane, according to Ukraine.
The fall of Assad is a humiliating blow for Vladimir Putin who had backed the tyrant during the civil war.
In return, the Kremlin was allowed to operate two military bases inside Syria.
One of those was a naval base – giving the Russian a port in the Mediterranean.
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All pro-Iranian forces have reportedly withdrawn from the country in a humiliating blow to the Ayatollah.
Meanwhile, Israel bombed military airports and ammunition depots in Damascus and claiming they will prevent “significant weapons” from falling into the hands of the rebels.
This is likely to mean Assad’s chemical weapon stockpile.
Benjamin Netanyahu said: “This is an historic day in the history of the Middle East.
“We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border.”
The US has declared it intends to maintain a presence in eastern Syria that is says is necessary to fight ISIS.
However, incoming president Donald Trump stated in a social media post he wants little to do with the Syria.
In a post he said: “This is not our fight… Let it play out. Do not get involved!”
Meanwhile, Iran said it was monitoring the situation – saying decision making “rests solely with the people of Syria”.
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It said “long-standing and friendly relations” between Iran and Syria are expected to continue.
Thousands of Syrians in Lebanon are now trying to cross at the border after the rebels told Syrian refugees they could return home.
Opposition forces have also announced a curfew for Damascus between 4pm tonight and 5am tomorrow morning.
Militants have also stormed the Iranian and Italian embassies and the Iraqi embassy has been evacuated to Lebanon.
Syrians around the world are celebrating the overthrow of the government – with the rebels telling refugees they can return home.
Some 4million Syrians now live in Turkey and another 1.5million in Europe – having fled the civil war over the past 14 years.
A timeline of the Syrian civil war
The sudden collapse of Assad’s rule over Syria could mark the end of a nearly 14-year civil war in the country.
2011 – The first protests against Assad quickly spread across the country, and are met by security forces with a wave of arrests and shootings.
Some protesters take up guns and military units defect as the uprising becomes an armed revolt that will gain support from Western and Arab countries and Turkey.
2012 – A bombing in Damascus is the first by al Qaeda’s new Syrian affiliate, the Nusra Front, which gains in power and starts crushing groups with a nationalist ideology.
World powers meet in Geneva and agree on the need for a political transition, but their divisions on how to achieve it will foil years of U.N.-sponsored peace efforts.
Assad turns his air force on opposition strongholds, as rebels gain ground and the war escalates with massacres on both sides.
2013 – Lebanon’s Hezbollah helps Assad to victory at Qusayr, halting rebel momentum and showing the Iran-backed group’s growing role in the conflict.
Washington has declared chemical weapons use a red line, but a gas attack on rebel-held eastern Ghouta near Damascus kills scores of civilians without triggering a U.S. military response.
2014 – Islamic State group suddenly seizes Raqqa in the northeast and swathes more territory in Syria and Iraq.
Rebels in the Old City of Homs surrender, agreeing to move to an outer suburb – their first big defeat in a major urban area and a precursor to future “evacuation” deals.
Washington builds an anti-Islamic State coalition and starts air strikes, helping Kurdish forces turn the jihadist tide but creating friction with its ally Turkey.
2015 – With better cooperation and more arms from abroad, rebel groups gain more ground and seize northwestern Idlib, but Islamist militants are taking a bigger role.
Russia joins the war on Assad’s side with air strikes that turn the conflict against the rebels for years to come.
2016 – Alarmed by Kurdish advances on the border, Turkey launches an incursion with allied rebels, making a new zone of Turkish control.
The Syrian army and its allies defeat rebels in Aleppo, seen at the time as Assad’s biggest victory of the war.
The Nusra Front splits from al Qaeda and starts trying to present itself in a moderate light, adopting a series of new names and eventually settling on Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
2017 – Israel acknowledges air strikes against Hezbollah in Syria, aiming to degrade the growing strength of Iran and its allies.
U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led forces defeat Islamic State in Raqqa. That offensive, and a rival one by the Syrian army, drive the jihadist group from nearly all its land.
2018 – The Syrian army recaptures eastern Ghouta, before quickly retaking the other insurgent enclaves in central Syria, and then the rebels’ southern bastion of Deraa.
2019 – Islamic State loses its last scrap of territory in Syria. The U.S. decides to keep some troops in the country to prevent attacks on its Kurdish allies.
2020 – Russia backs a government offensive that ends with a ceasefire with Turkey that freezes most front lines. Assad holds most territory and all main cities, appearing deeply entrenched. Rebels hold the northwest.
A Turkey-backed force holds a border strip. Kurdish-led forces control the northeast.
2023 – The Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 triggers fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, ultimately reducing the group’s presence in Syria and fatally undermining Assad.
2024 – Rebels launch a new assault on Aleppo. With Assad’s allies focused elsewhere his army quickly collapses. Eight days after the fall of Aleppo the rebels have taken most major cities and enter Damascus, driving Assad from power.