Dramatic map shows how Bashar al-Assad’s murderous regime has collapsed in just days as Syrian rebels seize power

A new map shows how dramatically Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s murderous regime collapsed in just days as rebels swept in and seized power.

The now exiled president, who has carried out a brutal crackdown on opposition forces over the past 13 years, appeared to retain control of the capital Damascus last week.

But as cheering critics of Assad’s brutal regime today celebrated his abrupt departure from office – and from the country – it has now become clear how quickly his overthrow came about.

Although conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza have come to dominate global attention in recent years, it appears that Syrian rebel groups had prepared for the perfect moment to strike.

Syrian rebels launched a rapid-fire offensive from the northwest on November 27, leaving Idlib province and overwhelming unprepared government forces who had reportedly withdrawn en masse.

And last weekend, rebels, led by the Islamist militant organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), took full control of the city of Aleppo – the capital of the country’s most populous governorate – before marching south towards the city of Hama.

Thousands poured into the streets of Homs last night as pro-regime forces fled, with rebels freeing thousands of prisoners from the city jail as security forces left in a hurry after burning their documents.

And now intense sounds of shooting could be heard in central Damascus, two residents said on Sunday, as rebels moved towards the capital.

Residents of numerous districts in Damascus turned out to protest against Assad on Saturday evening, and security forces were unwilling or unable to deal with the conflict.

One resident said the city was tense, with security forces on the streets and many shops without basic food.

The Syrian army withdrew from much of the south of the country on Saturday, but later said it was continuing to fortify positions on the outskirts of Damascus and in the south.

Yet Syrian government forces have now left the main city of Homs after less than a day of fighting, leaving Assad’s 24-year rule hanging by a thread.

Thousands of Homs residents were seen dancing and chanting “Assad is gone, Homs is free” and “Long live Syria and down with Bashar al-Assad.”

Youths tore up posters of the Syrian president, whose territorial control has collapsed during a staggering weeklong army retreat.

The fall of Homs and the threat to the capital pose an immediate existential danger to the Assad dynasty’s five-decade rule over Syria and the continued influence there of its main regional backer, Iran.

Homs’ arrest is also a powerful symbol of the rebel movement’s dramatic comeback in the 13-year-old conflict.

HTS, the group leading the rebel offensive in Syria, is a powerful Islamist organization that has maintained de facto control over Idlib for several years.

The group, led by Abu Mohammad al-Julani, grew in 2017 into a conglomerate of various Islamist factions, but has its roots in Al-Qaeda.

The core component of HTS emerged from a group that was once known as Jabhat al-Nusra – the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda – but later attempted to reposition itself as a legitimate Syrian nationalist organization.

The country has officially cut ties with al-Qaeda and created a civilian branch known as the ‘Rescue Government’ through which it plans to rule in Syria, insisting it has no ambition to expand beyond the country’s borders to expand.

Initial reports from civilians in Aleppo appear to suggest that HTS militants treated residents well after driving out Syrian government forces.

But there are suspicions that HTS’s jihadist origins persist and the organization continues to be designated a terrorist organization by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the US, Britain and the EU.

HTS fights largely alongside the Syrian National Army (SNA), a coalition of rebel groups that support what was previously called the Free Syrian Army (FSA) – the group of Syrian defectors that broke away from government forces.

The SNA is quietly supported by Turkey, which is also said to have a tentative agreement with the HTS – although the latter party’s jihadist origins prevent it from developing a relationship with Ankara.

Al-Golani, the main rebel leader, called this weekend’s capture of Homs a historic moment and called on fighters not to harm “those who drop their weapons.”

He also said in a separate statement that the rebels were about to take over the entire country and that “the end of the criminal regime is near.”

Taking Homs, a key crossroads between the capital and the Mediterranean, effectively cuts off Damascus from the coastal stronghold of Assad’s minority Alawite sect, as well as Russia’s air and naval base.

The Syrian army and security commanders left Homs by helicopter for the coast on Saturday, while a large military convoy withdrew by land, a senior army officer said. Rebels said they entered the city center.

The country’s state news agency denied reports that Assad had already fled to Russia and insisted he continued to rule from Damascus.

However, following the statement claiming it was “fake news,” a source told CNN that Assad was “nowhere to be found” at his usual residences in the capital.

Lebanon said it is closing all its land border crossings with Syria except the main crossing linking Beirut with Damascus.

Jordan closed a border crossing with Syria due to the security situation on the Syrian side.

Meanwhile, Assad’s allies Russia, Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have shown no signs of intervening.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told CNN that Turkey wishes neighboring Syria can “soon achieve the peace and tranquility it has longed for” during 13 years of civil war.

He said: ‘I want to say this openly: we have no regard for land – not even a pebble – that belongs to another country.’

Charles Lister, director of Syria and counter-terrorism and extremism programs at the Middle East Institute, told Bloomberg that Assad’s future has “never looked more fragile.”