Assad’s fate in spotlight as rumors emerge he fled Damascus to Homs

By Gokhan Celiker and Esra Tekin​​​​​​​

ISTANBUL/ANKARA (AA) - The regime has largely lost control of Damascus but the whereabouts of Bashar al-Assad has come into question, as rumors about a flight from Damascus to Homs are making headlines on social media.

With anti-regime groups entering the center of the capital, the regime has been losing control of the city, as claims surfaced that Assad left Damascus by plane.

Flight tracking websites recently reported that a plane took off from the Damascus airport and was last spotted above western Homs before vanishing from radar.

Some have claimed on X that the plane was carrying Assad.

There were reports that the plane descended to 1,600 feet before disappearing from radar and had been making "unusual movements."

Anti-regime forces in Syria are entering the center of Damascus on Sunday which has been lost by the Assad regime.

Protesters rose against the regime late Saturday in neighborhoods, while regime forces pulled out from critical sites such as the Defense Ministry, Interior Ministry and the international airport.

With the entry of protesters into crucial areas, the regime had lost most of its control over the capital.

Prisoners in the Sednaya Prison in Damascus, known for its association with the regime and notorious torture practices, were freed by demonstrators who stormed the facility.

Opposition forces had taken control of most of Aleppo’s city center and established dominance across Idlib province by Nov. 30.

Following intense clashes Thursday, groups took control of the Hama city center from regime forces.

Anti-regime groups seized several settlements in the strategically important Homs province and began to advance.

On Friday, Syrian opposition groups took control of Daraa in southern Syria near the Jordanian border.

Earlier Saturday, they seized control of Suwayda province in the south. And local opposition forces in Quneitra gained control of the provincial capital.

The opposition Syrian National Army launched Operation Dawn of Freedom on Dec. 1 against the PKK/YPG terror group in the Tel Rifaat district of Aleppo's countryside, liberating the area from terror elements.