Syria: Assad Gone; Rebels Declare Interim Gov't; IDF Deploys Across Common Border in 'Defensive' Stance
Syriously: reports that deposed leader's plane may have crashed soon after rebels overran Damascus; IDF masses paratroop, commando forces in the eastern Golan, deploys within Syrian territory.
This report —recorded in our homefront “mamad” bomb shelter perch in the northern Galilee—will be updated as events dictate. Meanwhile, please feel free to share this post, subscribe, and help support my efforts to bring you accurate, sourced reporting, and close-up-and-personal slice-of-life scenes here in northern Israel and our Life on the Border - thank you for your consideration:
Update: Sunday, 13:00 - “The leadership of the Islamic Jihad fled Damascus following the fall of the Assad regime. The leader of the organization, Ziad Nachala, fled to Tehran. His deputy, Akram Ajouri fled to Iraq” - Palestinian sources told Kann Israel News.
Update: Sunday, 12:00 - Reuters, quoting two Syrian sources reports that there is a “high possibility that Assad was killed in a plane crash.” The news agency reports this morning that a Syrian plane took off from Damascus around the time the Syrian capital fell to the rebels. The plane reached the area of the Syrian coast, but performed a U-turn and disappeared from the radar after a few minutes. Reuters has not been able to verify the news yet.”
Sunday, 07:00 IST update:
“It's over: Assad fled Damascus [at about 04:00], according to senior officers in the Syrian regime (Reuters). Syrian television also reports that he is gone. Rebel forces are making their way to the communications buildings to announce the formation of a new Syrian interim government. Fifty-four years of the Assad dynasty and more than 60 years of Baathism have come to an end. The regime has fallen.” (Nadav Eyal, Ynet News)
Rebels in Hama, Syria, pull down a status of Hafez Al Assad, the father of the just deposed leader, Bashar.
“Rebel message #1 broadcast on retired Syrian state television: "The city of Damascus has been liberated and the dictator Bashar al-Assad has been overthrown and all oppressed/oppressed detainees have been released from the regime's prisons. The operations room for the liberation of Damascus calls on fighters and civilians to protect the property of the free Syrian state. Long live free Syria for all Syrians, of all their identities." (via Israel army radio reporter, Ro'i Kass). The moment rebels take over a Syrian state television broadcast:
Rebel forces take over the Syrian Presidential palace.
IDF ground forces have advanced about five kilometers into Syrian territory near Quenitria, and aircraft have bombed sensitive IRGC and weapons sites in the area to keep them from falling into rebel hands, according to several reports:
“[Israeli] Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar stated that armed forces have entered the demilitarized zone on the Syrian side of the Israeli border, expressing Israel's concern over violations of the 1974 separation agreement that threaten its security and the safety of its citizens, particularly in the Golan Heights.
“He emphasized that Israel is not intervening in the internal conflict in Syria.”
“Due to heightened security concerns, the agricultural zones of Merom Golan-Ein Zivan and Buq'ata-Khirbet Ein Hura have been declared closed military zones. Farmers will only be allowed limited access under strict military coordination and necessity. The IDF emphasized that unauthorized entry into these areas is strictly prohibited,” the Spokesman announced. schools in four Druze communities in the northern Golan Heights—Buq'ata, Ein Qiniye, Mas'ade, and Majdal Shams - will shift to online education following a situational assessment by the Northern Command. However, kindergartens will continue operating normally. Other areas of the Golan Heights remain unaffected, the army said.
Came out of a wonderfully restful, refreshing Shabbat (Saturday evening) here in northern Israel into this bracing news:
The entire Syrian Golan border with Israel - from Magd el Shams just below Mt. Hermon to Hamat Gadeir on the Jordanian border - has fallen to the anti-Assad rebels. The IDF on Saturday hit them with artillery near Syrian Hader (east of Magd el Shams - see map), to aid an embattled UNIFIL forces outpost, according to Israel Radio and other reliable sources:
Thursday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened the Security Cabinet to discuss responses to the lightning takeover by the Turkish-backed ISIS/Al-Quaida acolytes of several Syrian cities including Hamas, Aleppo, and this evening, initial unverified reports of attempts to enter Damascus.
In response to the latest regional developments, “The Israeli military [in recent days] concluded a large-scale exercise simulating the rapid deployment of forces in response to a sudden event, against the backdrop of ongoing developments in Syria,” according to the IDF Spokesman.
“The drill, organized by the IDF Operations Directorate, took place in the northern Jordan Valley and southern Golan Heights, near the Syrian border. It tested the speed and effectiveness of ground and air force mobilization to address real-time emergencies.
“According to the military, the exercise focused on improving coordination between ground troops and the air force, strengthening their ability to respond swiftly to unfolding scenarios.
“Participants included soldiers in training programs and several Israel Air Force (IAF) squadrons. Some forces have remained stationed in the Golan Heights to bolster defensive operations along the Syrian border,” according to the Jewish Breaking News Agency.
IDF Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen., Herzi Halevi, said at the Syrian border: "We have to conduct a situational assessment, literally, every few hours. Against Katsav, every event here sets a standard and changes forward. That's why we are following very closely with all the collection capabilities what is happening.
”The main emphasis is to also see the Iranian exit, the Iranian interest, which for us is the first need, and the second thing is to see the local elements here who occupy the territory, what they are doing, how they behave, how they are deterred, and not confused by turning in our direction. If there is such confusion, there is an offensive response and behind it a very, very strong defensive response. To be prepared offensively and defensively,” Halevi said according to a video released by the IDF:
On the civilian front, The Golan Regional Council updated residents near the border:
"We continue to closely follow the developments in Syria together with the army.
"There is currently no change in the assessment of the situation and the defensive guidelines. But in order to be prepared for any scenario, in a joint discussion with the army, it was decided on a full and renewed mobilization of the defense teams in communities near the Syrian border, and a partial mobilization in the other settlements."UPDATE:
“Syrian President Bashar Assad remains in Syria as of Friday, though Egyptian and Jordanian officials have urged him to leave the country and form a government in exile, The Wall Street Journal reported.
“The advice reflects the regime’s rapidly deteriorating position amid the ongoing offensive being led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels. They have captured Aleppo and Hama, two of Syria’s largest cities, and are poised to strike at Homs, the last major city under regime control on the road to the capital of Damascus.
“The capture of Homs would also cut off Damascus from the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus, predominantly Alawite areas that are home to Assad’s most loyal supporters and the site of Russia’s Mediterranean naval base,” according to the JNS News Service.
Tehran is calling on its nationals to leave Syrian territory, and Assad's family has reportedly fled to take refuge with their Russian patrons in Moscow.
On Thursday, Israeli aircraft reportedly struck the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (CERS), according to Israeli army radio, hitting what Israel Radio termed, “strategic” facilities, believed to manufacture chemical weapons.
“It seems that these are weapons that Israel did not want to fall into the hands of the rebels, if they advance and take over that area,” army radio reporter, Doron Kadosh noted.
This report —recorded in our homefront “mamad” bomb shelter perch in the northern Galilee—will be updated as events dictate. Meanwhile, please feel free to share this post, subscribe, and help support my efforts to bring you accurate, sourced reporting, and close-up-and-personal slice-of-life scenes here in northern Israel and our Life on the Border - thank you for your consideration:
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Syriously cute! ;-) I'm confused - not unusual. Why would the IDF shell HAD to aid UNIFIL? It's my understanding the rebel actions benefit Israel. What am I not understanding.?
If Assad is in Moscow, that most likely ends his control of Syria. Looking more and more like a fait accompli for HAD and company. Thanks for the maps and update.