Gleeful Syrians looted Bashar al-Assad’s presidential palace in Damascus today, Sunday, 8th December 2024, seizing luxury items, including Louis Vuitton possessions, after rebel forces stormed the capital.
Videos shared online show scores of people inside the palace, raiding cupboards filled with expensive belongings of al-Assad and his British-born wife, Asma. Items such as duvets and linen sheets were scattered across the floor, while one individual carried an orange Louis Vuitton box up a flight of stairs, passing another looter with a bulging bag of stolen goods. Some posed for selfies in hallways, and one rebel was seen sitting at a desk in an office strewn with maps.
Dozens of luxury vehicles, including Mercedes, Ferraris, and Audis, were seized from al-Assad’s supercar garage, while others reportedly looted the Central Bank, leaving with bags of cash.
The Assad family’s 53-year dynasty ended abruptly with the fall of Damascus. Jubilant crowds celebrated in the streets, chanting anti-Assad slogans and honking car horns. State television aired footage of opposition fighters inside the presidential palace, while despot al-Assad reportedly fled on a plane to an undisclosed location.
The rebels, having reached Damascus’s suburbs for the first time since 2018, are interrogating military and intelligence officials to trace al-Assad’s movements. The president has not been seen or heard from since rebels seized the capital.
Russia’s foreign ministry confirmed today that al-Assad had left the country following negotiations with other armed conflict participants. The BBC reported that he issued instructions for a peaceful transfer of power before departing.
In a statement on Telegram, Hayyet Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) declared this the end of a dark era and the dawn of a new Syria, promising peace and justice for all. The group encouraged displaced Syrians to return home and pledged a brighter future.
A statue of al-Assad’s father was toppled in Jermana, a suburb 10 kilometres from the capital. Crowds gathered in mosques and public squares at daybreak, chanting “God is great” as they celebrated the fall of the Assad regime.
Also on Sunday, 8th December 2024, Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi Al-Jalali was seen escorted by rebels in Damascus. Reports indicate he was heading to a hotel to hand over government authority.
