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Rebels Claim Control Of Damascus, Assad's Whereabouts Unknown; Donald Trump Attends Reopening of Notre Dame. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired December 08, 2024 - 01:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[01:00:17]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all our viewers watching from around the world. I'm Omar Jimenez.

We're going to begin with breaking news in Syria where 50 years of authoritarian rule by the Assad family has crumbled in the face of a lightning fast rebel offensive. The rebels say they are in control of the capital, Damascus.

The rebels are celebrating and they're searching for President Bashar al-Assad, who has not been seen or heard from since early Sunday morning.

Now, a source tells CNN that the Syrian military there has fallen as scenes of chaos unfolded inside Damascus airport early Sunday, with people rushing to flee the country.

Here's what the Syrian prime minister had to say about the growing crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMAD GHAZI AL-JALALI, SYRIAN PRIME MINISTER: We are ready to cooperate with any leadership. The people choose, offering all possible support to ensure a smooth and systematic transition of government functions, preserving state facilities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

whatever leadership the people choose. Rebels have been sweeping through the country since launching the offensive last week. They claim to have captured four cities in a single day before reaching the capital. And Syrians were seen tearing down and setting fire to posters of Assad. Rebels say senior Assad regime officials are preparing to defect in the capital as well.

Joining us now is CNN's Nic Robertson in London for us.

So, Nic, as I understand, you're getting new reporting about the search for Assad, who again, we have not heard from since these latest images have emerged. NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah. And this is

a very, very important question for the rebels because as Assad fled the country, if he has fled the country, then he ceases to be an immediate threat. If he's in hiding, moved to another location in the country, perhaps Latakia on the Mediterranean coast, the sort of heartland of support for him, is he going to try to hold out with a group of loyalists there? Is that going to be an ongoing military threat and problem in the country?

So, so, right now, rebels are talking with military officers and intelligence officials who may have an understanding of where Assad was going, because he may have been involved in his transport or just aware of some part of the planning and as I understand it, rebels have been to the airport to search for clues. Again, there for where he may have gone and what he may have done.

And my understanding is from sources familiar with the situation that Assad's helicopter was found at the airport in Damascus which they therefore rule out that he's moved -- moved off by helicopter. But the assumption is that he will therefore have left by plane. But again, the question is in which direction and in which plane, because a number of planes left the airport in the timeframe that they're looking at.

But the key thing at the moment for the rebels will now be in Damascus, securing military control, securing a handover from the previous government to keep government facilities, offices buildings continuing to function, continuing a sort of normality, if you will, of life.

But very importantly securing buildings like military headquarters, like intelligence headquarters securing documents they may find there. I mean, one of the one of the things that has been done in the past to prepare cases against Assad and his regime cohorts is for rebels when they've taken control. And this is going back over the past decade or so when they've gone into somewhere, is try to retrieve documents that account for atrocities account for torture, account for murders. And this will be very much on their minds as well when they do that.

But in the short term, it is still securing the premises, securing the properties and making sure that there can be a transition as they continue to flood in more personnel who are going to have to stand up and do the job of the police and army who fled, which is providing everyday security for -- for the citizens.

In scenarios like this around the world, where there's a rapid change of power, it's not uncommon for there to be looting. This is something that the rebels are not going to want to happen, and that's been clear in the statements that they've been making.

And look these images have come very quickly. They've come on suddenly on the tail end of a rapid offensive over the last week and a half. But, of course, the dynamic here is nothing new between opposition forces and the Assad regime going back, of course, decades to his father.

[01:05:10]

But even more recently with Bashar al Assad, with a brutal civil war that we've seen play out in this country. Can you just tell our viewers how we arrived to this moment, stretching back even years, to which adds, I would say to the significance of the images that we're seeing now.

ROBINSON: Yeah. I mean, if you sort of go back to the beginning, 1971, when Hafez Assad takes control of the country and is a brutal dictator. So when he hands off to one of his sons and by the way Bashar al-Assad wasn't the chosen son, but the sort of right, tough minded son died in a in a car crash, so Assad, who trained as an eye doctor in London and not seen as a strong character by members of the, you know, sort of ruling elite in the country anyway, took control. He was challenged as part of the Arab spring in 2011 on the streets by popular protests, wanting to remove him, and he doubled down in brutality, taking, you know, chapter and verse from what his father had done, turning guns on the on -- on the -- on the unarmed protesters, civilians putting leaders in jail and a year later, when that didn't work, turning tanks and artillery pieces on towns of civilians.

Remember witnessing some of that in and around Damascus in 2012. It continued to be brutal but his -- his grip was slipping because he didn't have the majority of forces. That's when Russia came to his aid. Iran a long time ally of Assad and the Syrian government also stepped in bringing their forces their own fighters in. And both of them were investing money heavily into the -- into the country in business enterprises, but also in, in keeping Assad alive.

But what really changed recently are a number of things. The rebels got better trained, they got better organized. They talked to each other. They reformed from where they had splintered in the past and they took advantage of the fact that Russia was no longer able to give Assad the full support that he needed. The military support on the ground because they were distracted with their massive war in Ukraine. And Iran through its proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon, and its also proxies inside of Syria, have been badly bruised and bloodied by challenging Israel and, you know, Israel has been involved in bombing many, many Iranian interest sites, weapons transfer depots, weapons -- weapons warehouses all across Syria. It's massively weakened that support structure for Assad.

So when the rebels broke out of that enclave organized, you know, able to communicate across the whole geography of the country and direct forces that went and did a job and then were ready to move on to the next target that their leadership gave them in a coordinated way, were effective in challenging Assad's troops, who not backed up by outside help, fell by the wayside. And literally, as we saw today, overnight, 2,000 Syrian army soldiers in military trucks driving into neighboring, Iraq towing heavy weapons.

I mean, this is utterly unheard of to complete that circle of thought, 53 years of brutal Assad dictatorship. I don't think anyone ever expected to see his army fold and collapse, turn tail and haul it out of the country into a neighboring country. So this, this -- this is, in essence, what brought Assad down and brought us to the point of where were at.

JIMENEZ: And the final stages accelerating rapidly over just the last week and a half.

Nic Robertson, really appreciate you being here.

I want to expand this conversation now with -- out of Doha with Firas Maksad. He is the director of strategic outreach and a senior fellow for the Middle East Institute.

Thank you for being here.

I want to pick up where Nic and I left off its essentially analyzing this moment and how we arrived here. Look, the rebel forces are united in their sense of wanting to overthrow the Assad regime, but they're made up of a number of different factions who, you know, who might have their own disagreements at different points but again, coalesced around this common cause. I wonder what you assess of the different groups that made up this rebel push and if it portends any clues to what we might see from here?

FIRAS MAKSAD, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC OUTREACH & SENIOR FELLOW, MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE: Yes, let me start by talking about the moment. This is nothing short of a political earthquake in the heart of the Middle East. For viewers to understand, this is akin to the toppling of Saddam Hussein in Iraq in 2003.

[01:10:04]

But perhaps even that much more significant in terms of its regional impact and repercussions because of where Syria sits in that region to the north of Jordan and Saudi Arabia, next to Israel, but also Hezbollah in Lebanon, which depends on it for its supply lines from Iraq on the southern border of Turkey, which is very much backing these rebels, and then the impact on Iraq, also on its eastern frontier.

So what happens in Syria, what is unfolding in Syria doesn't stay in Syria. But first and foremost, let's talk about the human angle here. This is a regime that for over 50 years under the mantra of freedom, unity and socialism oppressed its people tortured and killed hundreds of thousands. About half a million people were either killed or disappeared during the uprisings of 2011. And what unfolded after.

And so this is a deeply human moment. And also in the name of Palestine and resistance oppressed not just Syrians but also Lebanese, where the regime for many years occupied Lebanon and Palestinians, hundreds of thousands of which are refugees in Syria.

So this is a deeply historic moment but also a very personal moment for millions across the Middle East.

Now, as -- as it pertains to the rebel factions, yes, they are multifaceted. There are -- there is a strong jihadi Islamist element here led by HTS, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, used to be an affiliate of al Qaeda has gone to great lengths since to distance itself from the group and appear more pragmatic and more encompassing of the various elements and communities within Syria. There's also remnants of the more secular minded free Syrian army, and so it is a moment of great opportunity and change for Syria. But it is also potentially a moment of peril, as many wonder what the role of HTS rebel Islamist movement might mean for the country.

JIMENEZ: And, of course, you know, you mentioned the very important aspect of this on top of the hundreds of thousands that have been killed, millions of refugees have been created as well over the course of this period. And there are many people who are waking up as daylight hits there at the beginning of a new chapter for the Syrian world, a new chapter that that the country has not known for, for decades, really, at this point.

I want to get your perspective to on, as you see, sort of the numbers that we have up on screen, the internally displaced over 7 million in Syria and other countries as well. But let's talk about the region, because I thought you -- I thought you put it well in regards to what happens in Syria, does not stay in Syria as far as impact goes. I wonder where you see the first the first impacts of what's happening here start hitting in the most significant ways in the days and weeks to come?

MAKSAD: Well, thank you for that question.

It's an important one. No doubt in my mind, the most immediate impact will be felt in neighboring Lebanon. These are in many ways two sister countries that whose fates have been intertwined. The late Samir Kassir, a political thinker in Lebanon that was assassinated by the Syrian regime, used to very famously say that there is no salvation in Lebanon without freedom in nearby Syria.

So in Lebanon where Hezbollah looms large, trained and armed by Iran, now loses its strategic depth in Syria. And so, for its future influence in Lebanon, for Iranian influence and ability to project power into the Levant, this is a game changer. Certainly, Israel also where Syria shares the frontiers, Israel to Syria's south is impacted, and we're already seeing that there is movement via the Israeli military to perhaps expand a zone in southern Syria to create some kind of buffer zone, worried that some of these rebel factions might create instability across the border.

But what my sources tell me is that the rebel factions have already formed special units to secure the frontiers, both with Israel and with Lebanon, not wanting any further instability at this moment but wanting to focus on consolidating power within Syria.

JIMENEZ: And you know, you talked about this a little bit earlier, but some of the images that we've been showing of celebrations in the streets of some of the rebel fighters, but of course, you've seen what I imagine are some civilians as well reacting to this news I mean, how do you believe they are interpreting sort of the beginning of, of this new chapter.

MAKSAD: There is no doubt in my mind that for millions of Syrians, this is a moment of liberation, generations of Syrians over five decades. So anybody, under the age of 50 doesn't know anything in Syria, but Assad rule, the rule of the Assad family with an iron grip.

[01:15:08]

First, the father Hafez al Assad, and then his son Bashar, which has now fled the country and whose fate remains unknown. But for some Syrians, too, it is a moment of great consternation and concern, particularly the minority communities in Syria. The Alawite offshoot of Shia Islam, the Ismailis, the Christians and the Druze, they want to make sure that this Islamist heavy fighting force, the rebel force will be inclusive in its approach to a new governance, a new day, a new dawn in Syria.

And so far, these rebels have been sending all the right messages, trying to shed the more hard line Islamist image of the past. But, of course, well have to wait and see how this plays out, and how they, in fact, will try to govern Syria.

JIMENEZ: And, of course, this is all playing out in multiple stages.

We saw the military offensive play out significantly by the rebel forces over the past week and a half. Of course today seems to be when they when they've captured the city of Damascus. But of course, tomorrow and the weeks ahead of how you govern with this power is a completely separate question in itself.

The last thing I want to ask you actually is, is on that portion of things because we have heard from the Syrian prime minister who says that the government stands ready to Cooperate with any leadership the people choose. I wonder how you interpret that type of statement coming from a senior government official, while the whereabouts of Assad are still unknown, when we haven't heard from Assad at this point. How do you interpret the comments of an official like that?

MAKSAD: Well, I would say that these comments are encouraging. It points to some kind of communication between the remnants of the regime and the rebel forces that have entered the city, and it is a positive indication of perhaps an orderly transfer of power.

But I am here in Doha, Qatar, today where in fact the leaders of the various countries that have influence in Syria, the United States, Russia, the Iranian foreign minister, the Saudi foreign ministers and others have been convening and meeting to discuss how to influence that orderly transition in Syria. And there is a call for a constitutional process, a political process that would bring in the various elements of Syria, including the opposition.

The challenge here, though, is that HTS continues to be the rebel, the main rebel force, continues to be a foreign designated terrorist groups for many of these nations. So it's going to be tricky business for many of these countries of historic influence in Syria, Turkey, I should have mentioned one of them, of how to deal with an organization that has historically been deemed a terrorist one, and the political -- the outside political opposition does not currently have much influence on the ground.

JIMENEZ: Firas Maksad, thank you for taking the time and perspective. I really appreciate it.

A lot of breaking news on what appears to be a very historic day for the country. Really appreciate it.

MAKSAD: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: All right. More on the breaking news out of Syria. This video is said to show Syrian refugees in Turkey celebrating the rebel takeover of Damascus. We'll bring you all of this and much more.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:21:54]

JIMENEZ: Welcome back, everyone, to the breaking news in Syria.

Rebel troops say they are now in control of Damascus. This video shows celebrations like this one happening in Damascus and other cities. Meanwhile, a source familiar with the rebels operations says there's an active search underway for President Bashar al-Assad.

Now, this is a look at what Syria looked like just days ago. And who controlled which parts of the country but now, rebels claim the capital is theirs and the prime minister says he's ready to work with, quote, any leadership that people choose. The United Nations envoy for Syria is calling for calm and avoiding bloodshed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GAIR PEDERSEN, U.N. ENVOY FOR SYRIA: The need for an orderly political transition has never been more urgent, starting with the urgent formation of inclusive and credible transitional arrangements in Syria. For this, we need an urgent, serious process fundamentally different from what has gone on before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now for a closer look at the military situation in Syria retired U.S. Army Major General Mark MacCarley joins us now.

If you can hear me, Mark, I think one of the things I want to hone in on is, you know, this offensive happened so quickly as far as the rebels moving through the country of Syria, there's only really a week and a half ago or so, we were starting to hear reports of them taking even portions of cities.

And so I guess my question to you is, are you surprised with the speed that they were able to, to move through this campaign across the country to the capital?

MAJ. GEN. MARK MACCARLEY, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Yeah, I think the most appropriate answer is yes, I was surprised but then my thought processes went back to August of 2021, and that was a period not necessarily, certainly not the same conflict but the movement of a strong insurgency group. and that was banned in Afghanistan and that moved incredibly swiftly when you have people that are focused on one singular objective.

And this HTS certainly is that organization, a conglomeration of a variety of anti-Assad organizations that wanted so desperately to rid the country of Assad. So it went incredibly fast. The mechanics will still be sorted out. We haven't yet done the analysis as to the composition of the HTS forces, but that will come in time.

But yes, very, very surprising and, you know, for -- for you, as you -- as you watch this, of course, incredibly quick offensive, what message do you believe this sends to the surrounding countries in the region as well? I mean, Iran has interests in Syria, Russia has interests in Syria. They have their own respective conflicts, of course, that they have been dealing with.

[01:25:01]

But do you believe this sends a message outside of Syria?

MACCARLEY: Does it create a message? Yes. Whether that was the intention of Jolani, who is the operational commander of the insurgent forces, and he intentionally wanted to transmit a message? No, but what it creates is an entirely different international situation in Syria, so that you have forces, these forces date back to the beginning of the contest of wills between Assad and the Free Syrian Army back in 2011. This was sort of an expression, if you recall, of the Arab spring, a little late, but an expression of the Arab spring.

And now, you have this elim -- I can't use the term elimination. You have Assad on the move. As I read the reports, he has departed -- exited from Damascus. But it does say something about those forces, the Iranian forces, the Russians, and, of course, Hezbollah, who have consistently supported Assad as part of the strategy of those three to protect their interests. You know, that Russia has a naval base. It has an, Air Force Base in Syria. Russia was confident about its relationships with Assad.

Now, all of that is put asunder. So if I were sitting in Moscow and doing an assessment or sitting in Tehran and looking at an assessment, you have complete destabilization. There has to be a whole new set of parameters understandings and agreements. So this is a big deal.

JIMENEZ: Of course, and, you know, we're waiting to see if any form of communication comes out from Assad amid all of this, his whereabouts still unknown. But as our Nic Robertson has reported, there are regime forces questioning or excuse me, rebel forces questioning regime officials over where Assad's whereabouts may be. Mark, I got to leave it there. Thank you for the time and perspective.

MACCARLEY: Okay. You bet. Thank you.

JIMENEZ: Of course.

All right. A new day in Syria and possibly a new chapter ahead for the country, as rebels declared Damascus free. We're going to have much more on the breaking news when we get back.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:31:15]

JIMENEZ: Welcome back.

Rebel forces in Syria are actively searching for President Bashar al- Assad after capturing the capital Damascus. A source tells CNN they are questioning Syrian military officers and intelligence officials who might have knowledge about his movements. Assad hasn't been seen or heard from in days.

Now, the rebels have declared Damascus free after taking over several cities in a really shock offensive launched just last week. Syria's prime minister says the government is ready to cooperate with any leadership the people choose.

I want to bring in our Paula Hancocks, who is in Abu Dhabi for us.

So, Paula, can you just bring us up to speed on what we know so far about this moment and how we got here?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Omar, as you say, it was a remarkably fast process to bring us to where we are now. And the situation to which Syrian residents are waking up to now, a very different country, a very different capital as rebels say that that Damascus is now free. They have called on Syrians around the world saying a free Syria awaits you.

Now, what we understand at this point is that those rebels moved to take up key positions within the capital, key institutions. We understand that they were taking over as well media building, the television and radio building. If you control the media, you control the narrative.

And we're seeing as well that the sources say rebels believe that there were senior officials within the regime that were preparing to defect. Now, we have heard from the prime minister this is Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali, who said that the government is ready to cooperate with any leadership the people choose.

Now, this could be seen as an olive branch, as an acknowledgment that the regime has fallen. But he is calling for a peaceful transition for the people of Syria, saying that -- that the institutions should not be taken over by the military at this point. Of course, he is not in a position of power, but saying he is at home and he will only leave peacefully.

So there is a hope that this will be a peaceful transition, a transition to what? We don't know at this point, but rebels, according to one source familiar with the situation, are actively searching for Bashar al-Assad at this point. We understand that rebels are questioning senior Syrian military officials, intelligence officials, but he has not been heard from since rebels first moved into to the capital just a matter of hours ago now.

It is an uncertain future, though, for residents. We have seen some panic. We have seen some run to Damascus airport, trying to to fly out of the country. But what they found when they got there several hours ago was there was nobody working there. There was no one to check them in, no one to put them on a plane.

And according to some flight monitoring systems, they don't appear to be flights at this point. So it is a very uncertain time. We heard from some residents saying that as they saw the rebels coming into the city in different areas, they did hear pockets of clashes but for the most part and on the face of it, it doesn't appear as though there has been much, if any resistance from the Syrian military, the regime's military. We have been hearing reports of them fleeing the city and some even fleeing the country.

[01:35:02]

So a very uncertain time at this point and an extremely fast moving set of events -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: Celebratory time for many people. But of course, many questions remain as to what's next, and, of course, the whereabouts of President Bashar al-Assad.

Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi -- really appreciate the reporting.

I want to continue the conversation now with Ryan Crocker. He's a former U.S. ambassador to Syria, as well as former ambassador to Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. He joins us now from Doha, Qatar.

Thank you for being here.

I want to start actually with your with your time as U.S. ambassador to Syria, because if I'm not mistaken I believe it overlapped with the time that Bashar al-Assad actually came to power in Syria in 2000. And I wonder how you compare that moment from when he first rose to power, I guess exceeded power from his father at that point to how we've arrived to this moment now, almost 25 years later?

RYAN CROCKER, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO AFGHANISTAN, IRAQ, PAKISTAN & SYRIA: I actually got to know Bashar a bit before he became president.

In the last year of Hafez al-Assad's life, when I was ambassador to Syria, I was asked to meet with Bashar, and we had several meetings, just the two of us that went on for hours. And again, I think that Assad was preparing for his own demise. And trying to introduce his son, who had not been chosen for the leadership role to the ways of the world particularly the wicked ways of the West, led by the United States.

And I came away from those conversations thinking that, boy, we've got the conventional wisdom on Bashar wrong. We seem to think that because he knows how to turn on a computer and studied some post-doctoral ophthalmological studies in London that he was a nascent liberal Westerner. My conversation indicated the opposite, that he was every bit as committed to the rule that his father had founded, and even less flexible.

So what happened next didn't really surprise me, sadly.

JIMENEZ: And so, let's continue on from, you know, those initial conversations. Okay. It maybe went differently than you thought it was going to -- going into it. As you -- as you left that position as -- as his rule sort of progressed and at points got more violent and especially into the 2010s, post-Arab Spring, we saw death tolls continue to rise and potential uses of chemical weapons -- I mean, I wonder how you watched that development and what you were thinking as -- as these events began to unfold.

CROCKER: Well, it was a horrific spectacle unique in the turmoil of the Arab spring but not really surprising. Again, history is important and history in Syria includes the brutal suppression of the Muslim Brotherhood in Hama in February 1982, when Bashar's father ringed the city with forces loyal to the regime to destroy the Muslim brothers.

And they did pretty much. But they also destroyed the city of Hama, the fourth largest city in Syria and as many as 30,000, almost all Sunni Muslim civilians.

So that was an early indicator of how the Assad regime would control internal order with extreme brutality and sadly, it was like father like son.

JIMENEZ: And now, now we arrived to this moment where all of this has happened and now you have rebel forces that advance very quickly throughout the country and are now declaring that Damascus is free. Assad is nowhere to be found. We have not heard from Assad.

I wonder how you assess this moment and what it means for -- for the future of Syria.

CROCKER: Well, this is a moment of true revolution, both internally in Syria and in the region. Internally, a hateful repressive, brutal regime is gone. It's over.

And it is a cause for jubilation on behalf of -- on the part of and on behalf of the Syrian people. Regionally, the Tehran, Damascus, Beirut, Hezbollah link is now broken. That is a link that's been in place for over 40 years. It was an early step by the Islamic Republic when they took power in Iran to reach out to the minority Alawites regime in Syria and establish a strategic tie.

That -- that linkage bedeviled us. I'm a survivor of the 1983 Beirut embassy bombing brought to us by Hezbollah in collaboration with the Syria and Tehran.

[01:40:01]

I was still in Beirut for the marine barracks bombing in October of that year -- again, the act of the same trio. So with that, an end to that linkage and the weakening of Hezbollah

we've already seen in its confrontation with Israel, an era of real violence directed at the United States and Israel, as well as the Lebanese people, is at an end. That's the good news.

The uncertain news is none of us really know what happens next. Who are these guys? Hayat Tahrir al-Sham was an al Qaeda affiliate, that as your coverage has indicated, split off some time ago, but we really don't know much about them. And we don't know if the coalition that has led to the downfall of the Assad regime is going to hang together to rule the country.

And even if they do hang together, how will they rule? The minority populations of Syria, the Alawites, the Christians, the Kurds have always been concerned about Sunni dominance. Well, now that's what they're looking at.

And for Israel, clearly, the setback that Iran has experienced first in Lebanon and now in Syria is a good thing. But who exactly is going to be on their northern borders? Who are those guys? Who is Abu Mohammad al-Jolani?

Well, we really don't know. But his surname al-Jolani, the Golani, indicates some attachment to Israel's border region. So this is a time -- this is just the beginning. It is by no means a conclusion.

JIMENEZ: Of course. And so much has gotten us to this point. But as you point out, the future is a little bit less certain.

Former U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker in Doha -- really appreciate the time and perspective. Thanks for being here.

CROCKER: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: Of course. All right. We have much more on the breaking news happening right now in Syria as we have been talking about rebel forces say Damascus is now free. We'll be right back with more details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:45:56]

JIMENEZ: Welcome back.

The latest now on the breaking news in Syria. Rebel troops have claimed control of Damascus, and they've now been seen on the grounds of the presidential palace. The rebels are searching for President Bashar al-Assad, whose whereabouts are still unknown this hour.

In the capital, scenes like this are playing out, people standing on a tank posing with weapons and waving a Syrian flag.

To give you perspective, rebels have been sweeping through the country since launching their lightning offensive last week. They claim to have captured four cities in a single day before reaching the capital. I want to go live now to Washington, D.C., where I'm joined by Mouaz

Moustafa, the executive director of the Syria Emergency Task Force.

Thank you for being here.

You know, I think over the last decade, obviously, the offensive here and the toppling, at least what appears to be the toppling of the Assad regime of over what we've been reporting on is significant. But also along the way, there have been millions of refugees, hundreds of thousands of people killed leading up to this moment. Many of them, of course, of course caught in the crossfire of what has been brutal war.

I wonder, what do you what does this moment mean to the refugees who are watching from outside of their country and for the families of those who lost loved ones over the course of getting to this moment.

MOUAZ MOUSTAFA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SYRIA EMERGENCY TASK FORCE: It's indescribable. I mean, I lost family friends, coworkers, in this 14- year-long revolution against a horrific tyrant and Russia and Assad and ISIS and Hezbollah and IRGC and Iranian aligned militia groups and the fact that the Syrian people were able to defeat all these evil powers by this, by themselves, without regional allied help, without the international community helping, without anyone really helping, not the United States, not anyone.

It's really amazing. And the -- for the refugees and for the internally displaced you're talking about 14 million out of a population of 23, that's insane. They are so ecstatic to be able to come back home. Right now, as the rebels swept through Aleppo and Homs and Hama and liberated now Damascus in the entirety of Syria, IDPs have already been returning home and the refugees across Europe, many of them so many friends that I've spoken to are packing their bags and excited to be able to go back home to a place that is safe of the tyrant Bashar al-Assad and his allies.

And the one place, I would say now in the Middle East that has a hope for democracy out of any of these Arab countries in the Middle East, many of which tried to save Assad up to the last minute and they're just so proud. I'm so proud. One of those refugees, is you know, is Caesar (ph). I was -- he's the person who exposed Assad's killing of men, women and children and elderly in horrible prisons. And, you know, we were just on the phone crying that now Caesar can even tell the world who he really is.

So for the millions of refugees in the region and in Europe, it's time for them to come home. And that's what they're preparing for.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, you speak to the emotion that I think is clear, even in the faces of some of the people that we've seen in the videos that that have emerged from here. You know, some have also worried though, that moving forward, sometimes if there's not a clear direction of where power might go or how governing might play out, that that some of the same chaos that has brought pain to so many could potentially come in the future. Obviously, any sort of political plan is way down the line from this moment, but I wonder what you believe the path forward for Syria should be now that they have -- have done what in some ways was a very difficult portion of capturing these cities all the way to the capital.

MOUSTAFA: Well, a lot of us have had experience in governance.

[01:50:02]

There are so many areas that have been outside of regime control, like Idlib province, the northern countryside of Aleppo province, other places, and, and despite the constant bombardment by Iran, Russia, Assad and the siege and the lack of humanitarian aid, they were able to govern.

And whenever Aleppo was taken in two days, services were established in Aleppo within hours. I mean, I was calling the bishop of Aleppo, who's the sort of the highest ranking Catholic representative appointed by the Vatican in Syria to check up on on all these different, you know, especially the Christian communities, et cetera. How are you guys, you know, how are they feeling and they said, we fear only Russian and Assad regime airstrikes.

Of course, that will not happen anymore. Russia is defeated and out, Assad is defeated and out, and they said, we are astounded by how much electricity we had. Like, why did Assad never turn it on for us? Electricity has been on the whole time.

So, right now, what we have is out of the cities that have been liberated, rebels are anyone in military gear is moving out of the city. Local governance is taking place. Technocrats that are coming in providing services are there.

And now this coalition of forces that have liberated Syria and liberated them without outside help, meaning they don't have to be loyal to Emirates or Turkey or Qatar or this or that. And that allows the unity of the Syrians as they forge a way forward to be really possible.

And you know, we look towards U.N. Security Council Resolution 2254 now that there isn't the obstacle of Russia and Assad and Iran, it is something that can help in a roadmap for the way ahead.

But Syria is closer to becoming a democracy than any other Arab country on Earth.

JIMENEZ: I think more optimism in the country than there has been in a long time, just based on what we were hearing from officials in the videos that we are seeing.

Mouaz Moustafa, I really appreciate the time and perspective. Thanks for being here.

MOUSTAFA: Thanks, sir.

JIMENEZ: All right. Everyone, we'll be right back with more breaking news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:55:51]

JIMENEZ: All right. Everyone, welcome back.

We want to update you on a few other stories we're following, including Donald Trump meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday in Paris, where the U.S. president elect attended the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral.

CNN's Alayna Treene has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: President-elect Donald Trump made his return to the world stage on Saturday for the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral. It was his first overseas trip since winning the election on November 5th, and he used the visit to rub shoulders with several foreign leaders.

We saw that he was welcomed with a lot of pomp and pageantry to the Elysee Palace, where he met first one on one with French President Emmanuel Macron before the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later joined the group.

But a key question for many foreign leaders right now is what Donald Trump's global posture is going to be once he assumes office next month, especially as it relates to the Russia-Ukraine war. Some have feared that Donald Trump will pull back U.S. (VIDEO GAP) posture. But have also questioned if and how he could deliver on that promise that he made throughout his time on the campaign trail to swiftly end the war. Now Zelenskyy, following that meeting, had said that it was good and productive and added that they agreed to continue to stay in contact on the issue.

Alayna Treene, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: And thanks for joining us. I'm Omar Jimenez. Becky Anderson picks up our coverage out of Abu Dhabi with more coverage on the breaking news out of Syria after a quick break.