The extremist Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which leads a rebel alliance in Syriaannounced today that its forces entered the Damascus.

Meanwhile, the president Bashar al-Assad he is said to have left the country. Two senior officers of the Syrian armed forces told the Reuters news agency that President Assad boarded a plane which departed for an unknown destination.

Earlier, soldiers and members of the security forces left the airport of the Syrian capital, as it became known from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the London-based non-governmental organization but which maintains a wide network of sources in Syria, said government forces had been ordered to withdraw from Damascus international airport.

“Our forces have begun to enter Damascus,” the Islamist organization Hayat al-Tahrir announced via Telegram at dawn.

At the same time he said that its fighters they occupied Sednaya Jail on the outskirts of the capital, freeing the prisoners. “We celebrate with the Syrian people the news of the release of our prisoners from their shackles and the announcement of the end of the era of injustice in Sednaya prison,” he adds.

“The doors of Sednaya prison, known as a ‘human slaughterhouse’, have been opened to thousands of prisoners,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is dominated by al-Qaeda’s former arm in Syria, and other rebel groups launched attacks against the Syrian army last week, quickly capturing dozens of communities and strategic towns, gradually encircling the capital before they launch their final attack.

“Return to free Syria”

The rebels, proclaiming that the “tyrant” Assad had fled, called on those displaced abroad to return to “free Syria”.

The Reuters news agency reports that the leadership of the Syrian armed forces informed about the overthrow of the regime, citing an officer who received a relevant message.

At the same time, the head of the Syrian opposition abroad, Hadi al-Bahra, declared that “without Bashar al-Assad” it is now Damascus. “The black page in the history of Syria” is over, he commented.

He remains the prime minister

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said today he is staying at home and ready to work for a smooth transition of power after President Bashar al-Assad fled and rebels entered the capital Damascus.

“This country can be a normal country, building good relations with its neighbors and with the whole world (…) but this issue will be the responsibility of whatever leadership the Syrian people choose and we are ready to cooperate with them,” Mohammed said. Ghazi al-Jalali in a video message he posted on Facebook.

The leader of the rebels, Ahmed al-Sara, better known as Abu Mohammed al-Jowlani, said that government services would remain under the supervision of the “former prime minister” until there is a formal change of power.