By Abiola Olawale
Several citizens in Syria took to the streets in celebration hours after President Bashar al-Assad fled the country over rebel forces takeover.
Pictures emerging from Damascus, the capital of Syria showed that several individuals were smiling and happy over the development
Speaking with the press, Mohammed Amer Al-Oulabi, 44, who works in the electricity sector said: “I did not sleep last night, and I refused to sleep until I heard the news of his fall.
“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.”
Also, Omar Daher, a 29-year-old lawyer, said his feelings were “indescribable”
“After the fear that he (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.”
The New Diplomat reports that this comes after al-Assad, in a surprising turn of events, fled Syria and sought refuge in an undisclosed location abroad.
The escape was said to have come after a significant shift in the ongoing conflict, as rebel forces succeeded in overtaking key government strongholds scattered across the country.
Giving an update on the development Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement issued on Sunday that President Bashar al-Assad has left Syria.
Assad “decided to leave the presidential post and left the country, giving instructions to transfer power peacefully,” the statement said, adding that “Russia did not participate in these negotiations.”
“The Russian Federation is in contact with all groups of the Syrian opposition,” it said.
