After 24 years of ruling Syria, President Bashar al-Assad left Damascus on Sunday and flew to Moscow, according to a report by the Russian state news agency TASS.

It has been reported that armed groups in Syria have gained control over the regions of Lattakia and Tartus, where Russian airbases are located.

The Syrian people, celebrating the fall of Assad, dared to dream of a better future following the sudden and unexpected end of the 54-year-old family regime. The dictator's flight to Moscow has brought an end to this regime.

The Guardian reports that the crowd waved Syria's revolutionary flag and brought down statues and portraits of President Assad and his father Hafez. Meanwhile, the sounds of gunfire and car horns were heard in Damascus.

Photos and videos depict families reuniting after finding their lost loved ones in the regime's notorious prison system. People embrace each other in tears, trying to come to terms with their newfound freedom. On the other hand, some have looted the presidential palace, and it is impossible not to be struck by the luxury goods and designer cars belonging to the Assad family, especially considering that 90% of the country's population lives below the poverty line.

In 2011, when Assad's regime began to violently suppress peaceful pro-democracy protests as part of the Arab Spring, Syria was dragged into one of the deadliest wars of the 21st century, further complicated by the involvement of foreign powers with conflicting interests.

In 2015, Iran, Russia, and Lebanon's Hezbollah militia helped rescue Assad's regime from the advances of opposition forces supported by Qatar and Turkey. As a result, the opposition forces were forced to retreat to the northwest of the country.

The Syrian Army, led by Assad, and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), led by the Kurds and supported by the United States, fought between 2014 and 2019 to defeat ISIS's declared caliphate. This was another front of the war, which also extended to neighboring Iraq.

Since 2011, at least 300,000 people have been killed in Syria, and 100,000 individuals have gone missing. Half of the country's population—around 12 million people—has been displaced, with approximately 5.4 million seeking refuge abroad.

Russia has been one of the few countries supporting the Assad regime in Syria. Vladimir Putin has met with Bashar al-Assad multiple times, and in September 2015, Russia officially launched military operations in Syria.

At that time, two Russian military bases in Syria — the naval base in Tartus and the Hmeimim airbase — were significantly expanded. In December 2017, Vladimir Putin visited the Hmeimim airbase and declared that the opponents of Bashar al-Assad had been defeated.

fter the collapse of the Assad regime became evident, Russian state media changed its rhetoric towards Assad's opponents. On Friday, the Kremlin labeled them as "terrorists."

On December 7, TASS agency quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, stating that Russia has been providing military support to Syria and assisting the Syrian army in resisting "terrorist attacks." However, on Saturday evening, after referring to the "rebels" as "terrorists" for the last time, TASS began calling them "armed opposition groups" at 6 AM on Sunday. By midday, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared that it was in contact with "Syrian opposition groups."

On December 8, the rebel forces in Syria declared that Damascus had been "liberated" and announced that President Bashar al-Assad had fled the capital. After entering Damascus in the morning, they broadcasted their first statement on television.

"We declare that Damascus is freed from the tyrant Bashar al-Assad. Alongside the Syrian people, we celebrate the release of our prisoners and the breaking of shackles, and we also announce the end of the era of injustice in Sednaya prison," the statement said.

The "Damascus Liberation Operations Command" called on all opposition fighters and citizens to protect the official institutions of the "Free Syrian State."

Syrian fighters entered Damascus on the night of December 8, after passing through areas controlled by Assad's government and launching a 10-day offensive.

The main road connecting Beirut to Damascus was strewn with military uniforms abandoned by Syrian soldiers. The soldiers discarded their uniforms after learning that their leader had deserted them.