Watch: Syrians tour Assad's palace after looting his belongings
Syrians stormed into his palace in the capital city of Damascus.
As Syrian President Bashar al-Asad fled the country, Syrians stormed into his palace in the capital city of Damascus and looted his personal belongings on Sunday (Dec. 8). Several videos circulated on social media showed locals freely entering the presidential palace.
An X user shared a video saying, "Citizens entered Assad's palace and started looting it." Another wrote, "Syrian people enter Assad's 'People's Palace,' following his ouster."
Not just the palace, videos also emerged showing the statue of Assad being destroyed by people. Videos showed the statue being dragged by locals.
Sharing the video, one wrote on X, "A profoundly symbolic moment for Syria: the toppling of Assad’s statue in Homs after the rebels took control, facing little resistance. Homs is regarded as the capital of the Syrian revolution that began in 2011 & suffered one of the most brutal crackdowns."
After the looting, Syrians, including women, children and men were seen touring the palace.
"I came for revenge; they oppressed us in incredible ways," a Syrian man told AFP.
AFP reported that the statues of Assad's father were also destroyed by Syrians.
This came just before Russia announced that Assad had left the country and ordered a peaceful handover of power in Syria.
Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement on December 8, "As a result of negotiations between B Assad and several participants in the armed conflict on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, he decided to resign from the presidency and left the country, giving instructions for a peaceful transfer of power. Russia did not participate in these negotiations".
The statement further said that Moscow was extremely worried by the events in Syria and urged all the parties to refrain from violence in the region.
"We urge all parties involved to refrain from the use of violence and to resolve all issues of governance through political means," the ministry said.
"In that regard, the Russian Federation is in contact with all groups of the Syrian opposition," it further added in the statement.
(With inputs from agencies)
