Multiple media outlets reported Saturday night, early Sunday local time, that rebels took control of Damascus in Syria, apparently toppling the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
Rebel groups declared they captured the capital of Syria after taking control of Homs and other parts of Western Syria on Saturday, according to The New York Times.
The White House released a statement late Saturday that said, “President Biden and his team are closely monitoring the extraordinary events in Syria and staying in constant touch with regional partners.”
Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said he would hand power over, as al-Assad’s whereabouts were unknown, The Wall Street Journal reported.
“We are ready to cooperate with any leadership chosen by the people,” he said in a recorded speech distributed to the media. “I hope all Syrians think rationally about the interests of their country,” al-Jalali said in a video, according to WSJ.
A civil war has raged in Syria for more than 13 years, starting in March 2011. It was put down by al-Assad, at times brutally, as he relied on allies Russia and Iran for help and support.
But The Wall Street Journal reported both Russia and Iran signaled to al-Assad in recent days that they won’t intervene in the most recent fighting.
There are several rebel groups fighting the al-Assad regime in Syria. The group that led the capture of Damascus was the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and other countries, according to the BBC.
Other rebel groups, according to CNN, include the Syrian National Army, the National Liberation Front, the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army, and the Syrian Democratic Forces, which reportedly has ties to Kurdish groups.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan was in California on Saturday at the Reagan National Defense Forum. He told the audience, “The United States is not going to ... militarily dive into the middle of a Syrian civil war,” according to CBS News. “What we are going to do is focus on the American national security priorities and interests.” Included in that is monitoring the actions of the Islamic State in Syria, he said.
President-elect Donald Trump put a statement on Truth Social about Syria on Saturday, saying: “... Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!”