The long rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is over, after rebels swept into the capital Damascus. The fighters declared the city “liberated” in a statement carried on state television as Syrians celebrated the fall of Assad’s regime in the streets.
The Taliban’s foreign ministry on Sunday congratulated the Syrian people and rebel forces, in particular Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, which led the sweeping rebel offensive, in the wake of the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Afghanistan “congratulates the leadership of the movement and the people of Syria on the recent developments, which have resulted in the removal of key factors contributing to conflict and instability,” the Taliban foreign ministry said in a statement.
“We express hope that the process of power transition be carried out in a manner aligned with the aspirations of the Syrian people, paving path for the establishment of an independent and service-oriented Islamic government, which prioritizes national reconciliation, avoids divisions and retribution, and adopts a policy of general amnesty to foster unity among all Syrians,” it said
The removal of Assad brings an end to more than 50 years of his family’s autocratic rule of the nation of about 23 million, which has been fractured by more than a decade of civil war. @cnn
