Holiday Ayo - Syrian rebels captured the key city of Hama on Thursday, delivering a major victory for the rebels after a lightning offensive in northern Syria and dealing a new blow to President Bashar al Assad and his Russian and Iranian allies.

Most recently, Syrian rebels announced they had captured the capital, Damascus. They also announced the fall of President Bashar Al-Assad's government.

"The tyrant Bashar al-Assad has fled," the armed rebels said in a statement as reported by Al Jazeera, Sunday (8/12).

"We declare Damascus free from the tyrant Bashar al-Assad," they continued.

Rebels also boast of the fall of the Syrian government as a 'moment of freedom after decades of pain and suffering'.

They invited Syrian citizens to return home.

"To Syrians abroad around the world, Syria is waiting for you," they said.

Rebels say the end of Assad's rule is a new era in Syria's history. They also said Assad had left the country.

"After 50 years of oppression under Baathist rule and 13 years of crime, tyranny and displacement, and after a long struggle, facing all kinds of occupying forces, we declare today, December 8, 2024, the end of that dark era and the beginning of a new era for Syria, said the rebel.

The rebels claim the 'new Syria' will be a place of peaceful coexistence. They claim justice will prevail and the dignity of all Syrians will be preserved.

"We are turning the page of the dark past and opening new horizons for the future," the rebels said.

Opposition leaders, including HTS chief al-Julani, have stressed in recent weeks they aim to build a state for all Syrians in a bid to allay concerns about sectarianism and the group's former ties to al-Qaeda.

Assad himself is reported to have left the Syrian capital, although his destination is not yet known.

Assad has led Syria since 2000. He became president after his father, Hafez al-Assad, who was President of Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000.