Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad boarded a plane out of Damascus on Dec. 8 as rebel forces swept into the capital, two senior army officers told Reuters.
The Syrian government has not officially confirmed the claims. Assad's destination is unknown, the officials told Reuters.
Rebel forces reportedly entered Damascus in the early hours of Dec. 8, taking over the state TV and radio headquarters to broadcast the end of Assad's regime. Opposition fighters also said they had freed all prisoners at the nearby Sednaya Prison near the capital.
Scenes of chaos unfolded at Damascus Airport as residents attempted to flee the rebel advance.
Assad's fall comes less than two weeks after a coalition of rebel forces launched a surprise offensive in late November, seizing major cities across the country. Before the sudden advance, the civil war in Syria had been largely dormant for almost a decade.
Opposition forces reportedly encircled Damascus throughout the day on Dec. 7, pushing through the southern communities of Maadamiyah, Jaramana, and Daraya. Rebels on Dec. 7 also captured the strategic city of Homs, cutting Assad off from the Mediterranean coast and key Russian military bases.
Assad's office said on Dec. 7 that the president had not fled Damascus, and had ordered the army to reinforce the capital.
As rebel forces blazed through the country, Russia, one of Assad's key allies, promised to continue aiding the Syrian government.
Moscow is doing everything in its power "not to allow terrorists to prevail," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed on Dec. 7. Despite these assurances, Lavrov said he was "not in the business of guessing what is going to happen" in Syria.
Russia has targeted Syrian cities with multiple airstrikes in the last week in an effort to push back rebel forces, but more aggressive military support for Assad may be limited by Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine.
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Dec. 7 that the speed and scope of the rebel offensive was a result of the current weakness of Assad's allies. Russia is unable to deliver military aid to the Syrian government while its forces stage their own grinding advance in eastern Ukraine, he said.
Satellite imagery suggests that Russia has already withdrawn all vessels from the Tartus Naval Base, Moscow's only naval base in the Mediterranean.
Russia has provided military aid to Syria since 2015, committing warplanes, tanks, artillery, and ground troops in an effort to prop up Assad's regime. This military intervention was a major reason Assad was able to capture Aleppo, the nation's second-largest city, in 2016 after hears of fighting.
Human rights groups have documented numerous war crimes committed by Russian forces in Syria.
Oleg Sukhov
(Updated: )
