Syria Civil War: US President-elect Donald Trump says Russia, Iran in 'weakened' state

Syrians wave their flag in Vienna, Austria, on Sunday to celebrate the end of President Bashar al-Assad`s regime after rebel fighters took control of capital Damascus overnight. Pic/AFP

United States (US) President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday said Syrian President Bashar Assad has fled his country and his protector, Russia led by Vladimir Putin, "was not interested in protecting him any longer".

According to news agency AP, Trump, in a post on social media platform Truth Social, also claimed that Russia "lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead."

Trump added that "Russia and Iran are in a weakened state right now, one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, the other because of Israel and its fighting success."

Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock expressed understanding for the relief Syrian people felt after the fall of President Bashar Assad's government, but warned that "the country must not now fall into the hands of other radicals."

"Several hundred thousand Syrians have been killed in the civil war, millions have fled," Baerbock said in a statement emailed by her office on Sunday. "Assad has murdered, tortured and used poison gas against his own people. He must finally be held accountable for this."

According to AP, Baerbock also called on the parties to the conflict to live up to their responsibility for all Syrians.

"This includes the comprehensive protection of ethnic and religious minorities such as Kurds, Alawites or Christians and an inclusive political process that creates a balance between the groups," the German foreign minister said.

Syria Civil War: Refugees in Beirut say they want to go home

Syrian refugees in Beirut celebrated Assad's downfall on Sunday, with some saying they are considering returning to Syria.

"After all these years of suffering, God granted us relief," Hilal Youssef, a Syrian from Hama, said on Sunday. "We will go back to Syria with pride and joy. We got rid of this army. We got rid of the injustice that we lived before and freed Syria. Now we can go there anytime we want."

"For sure we want to go back," said Bilal al Khleif, also from Hama. Refugees will return "to Hama, to Damascus, to Idlib and all areas and chant Freedom," he said.

Meanwhile, the Syrian state TV briefly resumed its programming, with an anchorman calling on all employees at the station to return to work, adding that they were safe.

"This is Damascus, the capital of Syria where the gates of freedom have opened for the first time in many years. This is a historic day in Syria's modern history," the anchorman said on Sunday morning, according to AP.

He later hosted Anas Salkhadi, a rebel commander among the fighters who stormed the capital. Salkhadi said that the rebels would protect state institutions.

"Our message to all the sects of Syria is that we tell them that Syria is for everyone," Salkhadi said. "We will not do what Assad's family did."

As Salkhadi spoke, the sound was cut, and the broadcast suddenly stopped. A red banner then appeared on screen with writing in Arabic that said: "The victory of the great Syrian revolution and the fall of Assad's criminal regime."

Meanwhile, hundreds of Syrians took to the streets to celebrate the fall of Bashar Assad's government.

Some cheered and rejoiced in front of a Syrian bakery on the German capital's Sonnenallee boulevard in the Neukölln neighbourhood, famous for its many Arabic stores, restaurants, and coffee shops. People waved flags emblazoned with "Free Syria," while others flocked in motorcades, German news agency dpa reported.

Many, originally from Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq, live in Neukölln. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians fled the civil war in their home country and reached Germany by crossing the Mediterranean on flimsy rubber boats and trekking through the Balkans, often for days and weeks on foot.

(With AP inputs)