Ireland welcomes 'historic' fall of Assad regime

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - The Irish taoiseach, or prime minister on Sunday welcomed the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, describing the developments in Syria "truly historic."

In a statement, Simon Harris said the fall of the "Assad dictatorship" is to be welcomed, but added the world must now act to prevent chaos.

"The scenes we are seeing across Syria, including in Damascus, are truly historic. The people of Syria have long wanted a future free of isolation and full of normalised relations with their neighbours and world powers," he noted.

Harris suggested that this now must be the goal of the UN, the Arab League and us in the European Union.

"In the immediate days, weeks and months ahead the protection of civilian lives and infrastructure and the respecting of international law must be paramount," he added, mentioning that more than 23 million people were brutalized by "war, terror and decades of dictatorship."

Harris added: "The future of Syria must be determined by Syrians through a peaceful transition as well as free and fair elections.”

After a period of relative calm, clashes between Assad regime forces and anti-regime groups reignited on Nov. 27 in rural areas west of Aleppo, a major city in northern Syria.

Over 10 days, opposition forces launched a lightning offensive, capturing key cities and then, on Sunday, the capital Damascus. The rapid advance, supported by defecting military units, led to the collapse of the Assad regime after 13 years of civil war.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Assad himself made the decision to step down and leave Syria, though it did not say what country he traveled to.