Opposition fighters captured al-Assad’s presidential palace in Damascus, Syria. syrian war news

Syrian opposition fighters have captured the presidential palace in Damascus after a swift assault that has taken control of the capital and sent crowds into the streets to celebrate the end of the al-Assad family’s 53-year rule.

State television on Sunday broadcast a video statement from a group of people saying that President Bashar al-Assad had been overthrown and all prisoners had been released.

The opposition group, known as the Operation Room to Conquer Damascus, called on all opposition fighters and civilians to preserve the institutions of the “free Syrian state,” the person reading the statement said.

The opposition said al-Assad had left Damascus. His whereabouts are unknown.

The Syrian war began in 2011 as an uprising against al-Assad’s regime and soon escalated into a full-blown conflict in which foreign powers became involved. Hundreds of thousands of people have died while millions have been forced from their homes in one of the world’s largest refugee crises.