Protesters tore down the statue of former president Hafez al-Assad, father of the country’s current president, in the central square of the Germana suburb, witnesses and activists told Reuters.
This suburb is mainly inhabited by Druze. Protesters, calling for the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, headed towards government buildings in an area of the capital where many branches of the security services are based.
🚨🚨🚨🚨
Wow!!!In the heart of Damascus, in the Jaramana neighborhood, the statue of Hafez al-Assad has been toppled.
Damascus is under siege from all sides.
— Omar Abu Layla (@OALD24)
President Assad remains in Damascus, according to the Syrian presidency
The Syrian presidency has denied reports that Bashar al-Assad has left Damascus.
The president remains in the capital and continues to exercise his duties, the official Syrian news agency SANA reported.
Jihadists and rebels surround Damascus
In the meantime, after occupying, within a few days, many large cities in the north, the center and the south.
“Our forces have begun the final phase of the encirclement of the capital Damascus,” said one of the rebel commanders, Hassan Abdel Ghani. The Ministry of Defense, however, denied this, saying that “the information according to which our armed forces, which are present in all areas of the Damascus countryside, have withdrawn, is unfounded.”
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the army withdrew from its positions in communities just 10 kilometers southwest of Damascus, which are now controlled by local rebels. Ghani said his forces captured the headquarters of the military intelligence agency, located near the capital, and were “continuing” their march towards the capital.
On the other side of the country, on the border with Iraq, dozens of Syrian soldiers crossed the Al Qaim border crossing and entered Iraqi territory, in coordination with the Iraqi army, local officials and security sources said.
Druze seized bases in Sweida
Druze militias have captured most of the Syrian army’s bases in Sweida province, which borders Jordan, leaving only one large base north of the city of Sweida, rebel sources told Reuters.
Khalhala Air Base, north of the city, remains under the control of the army and its forces are regrouping At the headquarters of the special forces unit, based in the town of Sweida, many deserted en masse, according to the rebels.
Hundreds of soldiers have taken refuge in Druze community centers, the same sources added.
At least 2,000 Syrian ‘officers and soldiers’ defected to Iraq
Iraqi authorities have allowed hundreds of deserting Syrian soldiers into the country, two Iraqi security officials said, noting that some of them were wounded.
Syrian soldiers “fleeing the fighting” crossed into Iraq through the Al Qaim border crossing. The wounded were taken to the hospital of the community of the same name, located on the border, in western Iraq to be given first aid.
Another source said it was 2,000 “officers and soldiers” who entered Iraq “with the consent” of the Iraqi authorities.
The government in Baghdad, backed by pro-Iranian parties, has expressed its support for the Syrian regime but is concerned about the regional implications of instability in Syria. To this day, many officials, including the prime minister, appear very wary of the prospect of an Iraqi intervention in the war. Authorities have sent armored personnel carriers to bolster border security.
