Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad attends the Arab League summit, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 19, 2023. Photo: Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS

JNS.org – Syrian President Bashar Assad fled the country for an unidentified destination on Sunday as a coalition of rebel groups took control of Damascus, ending his family’s five-decade rule.

A Syrian Air plane took off from Damascus International Airport around the same time the capital fell to the rebels, Reuters reporters, citing data from the Flightradar24 website.

It was not clear whether Assad, his wife, Asma, and their children were on the aircraft, which initially flew toward Syria’s coast—a stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect—but then made a U-turn and flew in the opposite direction for several minutes before disappearing from radar.

Two Syrian sources told Reuters that there was a very high probability that the ousted dictator was killed if he was on the plane.

“It disappeared off the radar, possibly the transponder was switched off, but I believe the bigger probability is that the aircraft was taken down,” one of the sources told the news agency, without elaborating further.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday afternoon that Assad had resigned from office and left the country after giving orders there be a peaceful transfer of power, without disclosing his location.

“As a result of negotiations between B. Assad and a number of participants in the armed conflict on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, he decided to resign from the presidency and left the country, giving instructions for a peaceful transfer of power. Russia did not participate in these negotiations,” the ministry said in a statement.

Assad fled Damascus after rebel groups stormed the capital, ending his family’s 54-year rule. Syria’s army notified officers on Sunday that the regime had fallen, an officer who was told of the move told Reuters.

Footage verified by CNN showed rebel fighters entering the presidential palace in Damascus on Sunday morning, firing in the air in celebration.

A rebel spokesperson declared in a statement carried on state television on Sunday morning: “Damascus has been liberated, and the tyrant Bashar Assad has been overthrown.”