UK deputy premier welcomes fall of Assad regime

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Britain’s deputy prime minister on Sunday welcomed the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, saying that over the years far too many people have lost their lives.

Speaking to Sky News, Angela Rayner said that the situation in Syria looks "very serious."

"If Assad’s regime has fallen, I welcome that news," she said, adding that ousted President Bashar al-Assad "wasn’t exactly good to the Syrian people."

"What we need to see is a political resolution in line with the UN resolutions. We need to see civilians and infrastructure protected, far too many people have lost their lives, we need stability in that region," she added, referring to Syria’s civil war, which has rocked the country and the region since 2011.

Asked about British citizens in Syria, Rayner said that the government has had a plan to ensure that people were evacuated ahead of what happened this weekend, adding they will continue to support British nationals.

- Road to Assad regime collapse

Clashes erupted on Nov. 27 between Assad regime forces and anti-regime groups in rural areas west of Aleppo, a key northern Syrian city.

On Nov. 30, anti-regime forces captured most of Aleppo’s center and secured full control of the Idlib province. Last Thursday, following intense battles, they seized the city center of Hama.

In the strategically vital province of Homs, which serves as a gateway to Damascus, opposition forces captured key settlements and continued advancing.

On Friday, opposition groups launched an operation in Daraa province near the Jordanian border, reclaiming the city center. The same day, they took control of the Suwayda province in the south and Quneitra’s provincial center.

By Saturday, anti-regime groups had taken the provincial center of Homs and entered Damascus’ southern suburbs. Regime forces abandoned critical locations, including the Defense and Interior ministries and Damascus International Airport.

By Sunday morning, the Assad regime had lost all control of Damascus.

Separately, in Operation Dawn of Freedom launched on Dec. 1, the opposition Syrian National Army liberated the Tel Rifaat district center from the terrorist group PKK/YPG in rural areas of Aleppo.