Analyst: Syrian opposition's seizure of Damascus marks uncertain era Many Surprises Ahead

Egyptian-born British journalist Abdel Bari Atwan analyzed the developments after the Syrian opposition seized Damascus and wrote that this situation is completely unclear at the moment and that many surprises await us in all fields.

“The process of developments before and after the seizure of the Syrian capital by the armed opposition was very fast because the Syrian army did not dare to engage in a bloody conflict and surrendered in the face of a triple enemy and a plan carefully designed in the cabinets of Washington, Ankara and Tel Aviv,” Atwan said, Caliber.Az reports, citing Iranian media.

Referring to the Russian authorities' announcement that Bashar al-Assad and his family have arrived in Moscow and have been granted political asylum, he said: “The amazing events that are taking place are the beginning of history and there will probably be many surprises in all areas.”

“Syria is a forest of weapons and it is likely that the sudden surrender is just a manoeuvre similar to what happened in Iraq after the collapse of its army in 2003 during the American attack, and the goal is to recover and prepare for resistance,” Atwan clarified.

To recall, on December 8 morning, rebel fighters captured the Syrian capital of Damascus, effectively toppling the Assad regime that has been in power in the country since 1971.

The rebels - who made a lightning advance over the past fortnight, taking key cities on the road to Damascus - were greeted with celebrations in the streets as they entered the city.

Ahead of the rebel takeover, though, others expressed uncertainty about the future, fearing instability and violence in a city that had been relatively unscathed by Syria's decade-long civil war.

People were seen looting the presidential palace on Sunday, prompting the rebels to impose a curfew on Damascus.

Celebratory gunfire was also heard ringing out in the city's Umayyad Square - despite HTS forbidding rebels from doing so.

Assad had been in power since 2000, when he assumed the presidency from his father, Hafez. The regime was marked by repression, censorship and human rights violations.

Following the Arab Spring, several factions opposed to Assad formed - among them HTS, which was established in 2011 as an affiliate of al-Qaeda and had early involvement from the leader of the Islamic State. It is still proscribed as a terrorist group by the UN, the US and others.

By Khagan Isayev