Syrian state TV airs video announces ouster of Bashar al-Assad

Syrian state television on Sunday aired a video statement by a group of men announcing the ouster of longtime President Bashar al-Assad and the release of all prisoners from jail.

The video came after anti-regime armed groups early Sunday took control of the capital Damascus, bringing the Assad to regime a dramatic end.

The person who read out the statement called on all opposition members and citizens to protect the institutions of “the free Syrian state."

Clashes broke out between Assad regime forces and anti-regime armed groups on Nov. 27 in rural areas west of Aleppo, a major city in northern Syria.

On Nov. 30, anti-regime groups took control of most of the center of Aleppo from regime forces, and on the same day, they gained control over the entire Idlib province. Last Thursday, after fierce clashes, the groups took the city center of Hama from regime forces.

As anti-regime armed groups started to dominate the capital, the Assad regime on Sunday morning quickly lost all control of Damascus. Amid rumors he fled the capital, the whereabouts of the ousted Assad are currently unknown.

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