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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad boarded a plane and left for an unknown destination, two senior army officers familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday.

Syrian rebels said on Sunday they have begun entering the capital, Damascus, without any sign of army deployments.

"We celebrate with the Syrian people the news of freeing our prisoners, releasing their chains, and announcing the end of the era of injustice in Sednaya prison," they added.

Sednaya is a large military prison on the outskirts of Damascus where the Syrian government detained thousands of people.

Syrian rebels announced they had gained full control of the key city of Homs early on Sunday after just one day of fighting, leaving President Bashar al-Assad's 24-year rule hanging by a thread as insurgents marched on Damascus.

Syrian rebel groups said on Sunday that they have begun entering the capital, Damascus, without any sign of army deployments.

"We celebrate with the Syrian people the news of freeing our prisoners, releasing their chains, and announcing the end of the era of injustice in Sednaya prison," they added.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad boarded a plane and left Damascus for an unknown destination on Sunday, two senior army officers told Reuters.

All flights at Damascus International Airport have been suspended, and staff have been evacuated, AP reported.

The rebel fighters announced they had gained full control of the key city of Homs early on Sunday. The leader of the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said their control of Homs marked a "historic event that will distinguish between truth and falsehood."

Homs lies about 140 kilometers north of the capital and is the third major city seized by the rebel groups, who began their advance on November 27, reigniting a years-long war that had become largely dormant.

Existential threat to Assad government

The fall of Homs and the threat to the capital pose an immediate existential danger to the Assad government.

Special commentator Song Xiaojun told China Media Group that once Homs is captured, the key port cities on the Mediterranean coast, such as Latakia and Tartus, will be cut off from Damascus, preventing the Syrian government from receiving supplies from the coastal region.

Noting that Latakia is the stronghold of Assad's Alawite sect in Syria and also the location of Assad's hometown, Song said that the loss of Homs will put enormous psychological pressure on the Syrian government.

Homs' capture is also a powerful symbol of the rebel movement's dramatic comeback in the 13-year-old conflict. Swathes of Homs were destroyed by grueling siege warfare between the rebels and the army years ago. The fighting wore down the insurgents, who were ultimately forced out.

The pace of events has stunned Arab capitals and raised fears of a new wave of regional instability.

Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Türkiye and Russia issued a joint statement calling the crisis a dangerous development and urging a political solution.

The United Nations said the violence has displaced 370,000 people. UN Special Envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, called for "urgent political talks" to implement a 2015 Security Council resolution that outlined a roadmap for a negotiated settlement.

Allies' role in supporting Assad

Assad has long relied on allies to subdue the rebels. Russian warplanes conducted bombing raids, while Iran sent allied forces, including Hezbollah and Iraqi militias, to reinforce the Syrian military and storm insurgent strongholds.

But Russia has been focused on its conflict with Ukraine since 2022, and Hezbollah has suffered significant losses in its own conflict with Israel, which has greatly limited its ability, or that of Iran, to bolster Assad.

Now, with Homs captured by rebel groups, Russia's military presence in Syria has been significantly impacted, said Song, who explained that Russia's military forces in Syria are mainly concentrated in Latakia and Tartus, while Homs serves as an important passage to and from these two locations.

Song added that Russia faces a difficult decision: If its ground forces are insufficient, the heavy equipment at these military bases may need to be withdrawn early to avoid heavy losses, such as bombing oil depots or damaging aircraft and ships.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that the U.S. should "not get involved," after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Friday for a "political solution to the conflict" in a call with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

After Fidan and his Iranian and Russian counterparts discussed Syria in Qatar on Saturday, Iran's top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, said they agreed on initiating political dialogue between the Syrian government and rebel groups.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said it was "inadmissible" to allow a "terrorist group to take control" of Syrian territory.

(With input from agencies)