Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s President who is widely seen as a dictator who ruled the country with an iron hand but was also hailed as one of the last secular Arab leaders by many, has fled to an unknown destination as Islamist-led rebel groups advanced at lightning speed, media reports said.

In its X post, IDF said: "In accordance with the situational assessment following the recent events in #Syria, including the entry of armed personnel into the buffer zone, the IDF has deployed forces in the buffer zone and in several other places necessary for its defense, to ensure the safety of the communities of the Golan Heights and the citizens of Israel."

"We emphasize that the IDF is not interfering with the internal events in Syria," IDF said.

"The IDF will continue to operate as long as necessary in order to preserve the buffer zone and defend Israel and its civilians," the force said.

Situation in Syria

According to a statement on Sunday, rebel forces in Syria declared Damascus “free,” claiming Bashar al-Assad has fled the capital, reported BBC.

“We declare the city of Damascus free from the tyrant Bashar al-Assad,” the Military Operations Command wrote in a post on Telegram, reported CNN. “To the displaced all over the world, a free Syria awaits you,” the statement added.

The rebels claimed to have taken control of the notorious Saydnaya Military Prison north of Damascus before entering the capital.

Once perceived as unassailable, Assad’s regime collapsed like a pack of cards on the face of a swift aggression led by a group called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), formerly known as the Al-Nusra Front affiliated with terror group Al-Qaeda, and allied factions.

Assad, who was backed by Russia for a long time, will be remembered as the man who crushed peaceful protests against his regime in 2011, triggering a civil war that led to the deaths of over half a million people and forced six million others to become refugees.