Opposition fighters declare Syria’s capital Damascus ‘liberated’

Syria opposition fighters have declared that the country’s capital Damascus has been “liberated”, hours after announcing that President Bashar al-Assad has fled the city to an unknown destination.

In a statement broadcast live on Syrian national television on Sunday, a group of fighters said the “tyrant Assad has been toppled” and that all prisoners have been freed from Damascus.

“We wish all our fighters and citizens preserve and maintain the property of the state of Syria,” a leader of the group said.

Exclusive footage captured by Al Jazeera showed the opposition fighters entering the presidential palace in Damascus.

The armed opposition also shared a video that it says was taken by its fighters from the strategic Mezzeh Air Base in Damascus. The base played a major role in launching government rocket attacks and air raids against opposition-held territory.

Earlier on Sunday, fighters have entered the heart of the capital announcing that a “new era” free of revenge, inviting Syrians overseas to return.

Hadi al-Bahra, who heads the Syrian political opposition coalition overseas, declared Damascus “free of al-Assad” and congratulated the Syrian people.

In a statement, Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said he remains in his home, willing to cooperate with the opposition, adding that he wants to ensure public institutions continue to function.

At the same time, Abu Mohamed al-Julani, head of main fighting group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has ordered opposition fighters to not attack any public institutions and services.

Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, who is reporting from neighbouring Amman, Jordan, described the latest development in Syria as “seismic.”

“The fall of the Assad regime is the end of an era in the Middle East, and it will have big news implications across the region,” she said.