U.N. officials warned of the need for civilian protections as Syrian rebels announced the "liberation" of Damascus on state television, ending President Bashar Assad's regime and his family's half-century of rule.
Assad's almost 14-year battle to hold onto his family's dynasty, spawning a horrific civil war and the world's largest refugee crisis, ended with his flight from the country on Sunday as rebels stormed the capital.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called the fall of the dictatorial regime "an historic opportunity to build a stable and peaceful future" that requires a calm, non-violent approach protecting the rights of all Syrians.
"It's really a watershed moment in the history of Syria," echoed U.N. special envoy Geir Pedersen. "This dark chapter has left deep scars, but today we look forward with cautious hope to the opening of a new time – one of peace, reconciliation, dignity, and inclusion for all Syrians."
The abrupt end to the Assad regime after a long, grinding war that killed more than half a million people culminated a rapid rebel offensive that shattered the government's last defenses – and its Western-educated president's lethal failure to live up to his early promise as a reformer. Assad's father, Hafez, a member of the country's Alawite minority, began his repressive rule in a predominantly Sunni nation with a coup in 1970.
"To those displaced, this moment renews the vision of returning to homes once lost. To families separated by war, the beginning of reunions bring hope. To those unjustly detained, and the families of the detained and the missing, the opening of the prisons reminds us of justice’s eventual reach," Pedersen told reporters in Geneva. "But the challenges ahead remain immense and we hear those who are anxious and apprehensive."
A group of armed rebels said on Syrian state television that Assad's government was no more, everyone imprisoned by him was released, and a "free Syrian state" would begin to take shape. Assad fled the country to Russia, his biggest backer, where he and his family were being given asylum in Moscow, according to Russian news agencies Tass and RIA.
Stephan Sakalian, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Syria, said "hundreds of thousands of people need care and humanitarian assistance," and ICRC teams were "responding whenever possible," while closely monitoring the fast-evolving security and humanitarian situation in coordination with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.
ICRC calls on all parties to ensure "safe and unhindered access for medical and humanitarian workers to reach those in need, to protect civilians, and to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law," he said.
Hope for 'the end of decades of state-organized repression'
The Islamist insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al Sham, or HTS, led the rebel forces to victory. Its leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, has lately spoken of a need for religious tolerance. That contrasts with his group's Salafi-jihadist ideology and origins as a branch of al-Qaida – prompting its listing as a terror organization by the U.S., the United Nations, Russia and Turkey.
"Obviously, the fact that HTS is a listed group creates challenges," Pedersen noted. "It's extremely important that we now see on the ground a development that proves that we can achieve, you know, a transition to what I hope will be a democratic future for Syria."
Crowds in Damascus celebrated and prayed in the city’s mosques as the Sunni rebel forces – fresh off their capture of Homs, Aleppo and Hama since late November – swept in and government forces and police fled. The rebels also said they freed prisoners from a military prison.
The end of the Assad regime should bring "the end of decades of state-organized repression,” said Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, chair of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria that has investigated human rights violations in the country since 2011. “It is incumbent on those now in charge to ensure that such atrocities are never again repeated.”
As a precaution, U.N. agencies reduced operations to "core teams" and moved non-critical staff outside the country. The U.N.'s resident coordinator in Syria, Adam Abdelmoula, said the U.N. was "strategically reducing its footprint by relocating non-critical staff outside the country."
Civilian casualties, including women and children, are mounting in a war that has displaced more than 370,000 people, including many seeking refuge in the northeast and others trapped in front-line areas where they cannot escape, according to Abdelmoula.
"Let me emphasize – this is not an evacuation, and our dedication to supporting the people of Syria remains unwavering," he said.
