Syrian rebel forces combing through the abandoned presidential palace of toppled tyrant Bashar al-Assad have uncovered a treasure trove of personal effects – including a particularly special Royal souvenir.
Chief among the valuables discovered by members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – the Islamist group that led the rebel offensive – was a signed picture of the late Queen Elizabeth II standing alongside Prince Philip in Buckingham Palace.
The picture had been hand-signed by both royals and dated 2002 – though it appeared to have been pulled out of a box containing all kinds of other documents and bric-a-brac.
Other items included a thick gold plaque addressed to the Syrian National football team by FIFA, congratulating players on their participation in the 2005 Youth World Cup – it was unclear why Syria‘s President had taken the award for himself.
The plaque was embossed with the signature of former FIFA chief Sepp Blatter who was subsequently banned from FIFA activities following a monumental corruption probe.
In an office deep inside the rather ironically named ‘People’s Palace’, rebels stumbled upon a large wardrobe full of suits and fine clothing surrounded by framed photos, prints and a large photo of Assad’s London-born wife Asma.
The ransacking of Assad’s grand residence comes as HTS took to state television this afternoon to announce that the formal transition of power in Syria had begun.
Rebel officials announced Mohammad al-Bashir – the head of HTS’ so-called ‘Salvation Government’ in the Idlib province – as interim Prime Minister of a transitional cabinet that will remain in place until March 1.
On Sunday, the rebels led by HTS seized the capital Damascus in a lightning offensive just one day after Assad fled the country to seek asylum in Russia with ally Vladimir Putin.
Chief among the valuables discovered by members of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that led the rebel offensive was a signed picture of the late Queen Elizabeth II
Other items included a thick gold plaque addressed to the Syrian National football team by FIFA
A view of a picture of Asma, wife of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad at one of the rooms in Presidential Palace known as Qasr al-Shaab ‘People’s Palace’
A view of personal souvenirs for Syria’s Bashar al-Assad at one of the rooms at Presidential Palace known as Qasr al-Shaab ‘People’s Palace’, after rebels seized the capital and ousted Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria December 10, 2024
A Syrian opposition fighter sits inside an office at the Presidential Palace with maps seen on the floor and on a desk
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia days before rebels seized Damascus
‘The general command has tasked us with running the transitional government until March 1,’ a statement attributed to Bashir on state television’s Telegram account this afternoon read.
Before being tapped for the role, Bashir led the government presiding over the Idlib province in northwest Syria and previously held the role of its development minister.
The Salvation Government, with its own ministries, departments, judicial and security authorities, was set up in the Idlib bastion in 2017 to assist people in the rebel-held area people cut off from government services.
It has since begun rolling out assistance in Aleppo, the first major city to fall from government hands after the rebels began their offensive.
HTS rebels exploring Assad’s palace were joined by gleeful Syrian civilians, many of whom suffered greatly under the Syrian government and relied on foreign aid.
A slew of videos and images published this week showed celebrating citizens running through the halls of the palace and looting various items including designer clothes.
In one video, scores of people were seen raiding cupboards in the residence and joyously rifling through luxury possessions of the Assad family.
Duvets and linen bed sheets were strewn on the floor while one person was seen clutching a Louis Vuitton case.
As that individual headed up a large staircase, they were passed another civilian carrying a bag stuffed full of looted items.
People posed for selfies in hallways while another snap showed a rebel sitting at a desk in an office having scattered maps, documents and other papers across the room.
Dozens of Assad’s top-line motors were also seized after militants broke into his supercar garage filled with Mercedes, Ferraris and Audis.
Gleeful Syrians ransacked Bashar al-Assad’s presidential palace in Damascus
Hoards of people can be seen in one video within the palace’s walls raiding cupboards of the president’s expensive possessions
Dozens of al-Assad’s luxury vehicles have been seized after rebels broke into his supercar garage
The garage is filled with Mercedes, Ferraris, and Audis as well as high-end motorbikes and SUVs
People were seen loading their arms with stacks of crockery during the looting rampage
A Syrian woman smiles as she carries out a stack of plates from al-Assad’s presidential residence
A Syrian loads up a suitcases as one of al-Assad’s homes is ransacked by looters
A woman carries out a box full of clothes after looting the presidential residence
Asma married a dashing prince, in the shape of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad
Leaving his prized possessions behind, Assad fled to Russia late last week with his family, it was confirmed yesterday.
The Syrian President, his British wife and their three adult children were granted asylum by Putin, who is also expected to offer safe haven to Assad’s in-laws.
British-born Asma, who married into the brutal autocratic dynasty, has become accustomed to a life of luxury with reports that she spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on home furnishings and clothes during her husband’s reign of terror.
The US state department estimates the Assad family are worth some $2billion, with their wealth concealed in numerous accounts, shell companies, offshore tax havens and real estate portfolios.
Now they are likely to draw on their family connections and extensive assets in Moscow in the hope of keeping up their comfortable lifestyle in exile.
The Syrian autocrat’s extended family bought up at least 20 Moscow apartments worth more than £30 million in recent years, illustrating Russia’s status as a safe haven for the clan.
The Kremlin yesterday confirmed that the family was given asylum on the direct orders of Putin but disclosed no further details.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters: ‘We have nothing to say about Assad’s whereabouts.’
The overthrow of Assad, who maintained a complex web of prisons and detention centres to keep Syrians from straying from his Ba’ath party line, comes after nearly 14 years of civil war.
That bitter conflict erupted after Assad ordered his security forces to crack down on Arab Spring protests in 2011 killed some 500,000 people and forced half the country to flee their homes, millions of them finding refuge abroad.
Mass celebrations erupted in Damascus on Sunday as hopeful civilians took to the streets to greet the insurgents who liberated thousands of prisoners from Assad’s torturous jails.
All roads into Syria were also gridlocked as thousands more jubilant refugees flocked from neighbouring countries, desperate to return to their homes.
HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa – better known by his nom-de-guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani (also written Jawlani or Julani) – insists that he will work to create a tolerant, civilised nation where religious and ethnic minorities can live peacefully.
The Sunni Islamist insurgents have also claimed they won’t impose any harsh restrictions or religious dress codes on women.
But major doubts persist over HTS’ commitment to upholding such equality – and whether the group will be willing to work with other factions as part of a coalition government, thereby loosening its grip on power.
Regional analysts and human rights activists point out that HTS imposed an authoritarian Islamist rule over its territory in Idlib and there are suspicions that the group’s jihadist origins remain.
Top rebel commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani speaks to a crowd at Ummayad Mosque in Damascus, after Syrian rebels announced that they have ousted President Bashar al-Assad, Syria December 8, 2024
Syrians take souvenir pictures on their mobile phones inside the Presidential Palace after the Syrian government collapsed in Damascus – December 8, 2024
Syrian opposition fighters take a selfie inside the Presidential Palace – December 8, 2024
People celebrate at Umayyad Square in Damascus on December 8, 2024, as rebel soldiers declare that they have taken the capital
People sit on a tank as they gather at Umayyad Square in Damascus on December 8, 2024
Besides HTS, the other major player in the rebel offensive against the Assad regime is the Syrian National Army (SNA) or Free Syrian Army (FSA) – an umbrella group of rebel militias that have long been financed and armed by Turkey.
The rebel factions were able to fight effectively side-by-side to topple Assad, but now their divisions could be highlighted in the resulting power vacuum.
Analysts and observers hold out hope these factions can reach an agreement and create a stable administration, laying the foundations for re-development.
British senior minister Pat McFadden said on Monday that Britain could drop its proscription of HTS as a terrorist organisation based on how it operates after Assad’s ouster – a step towards legitimacy in the eyes of the West that could precipitate increased aid and investment.
Edmund Fitton-Brown, Senior Advisor to the Counter Extremism Project, told MailOnline that a best-case scenario could see HTS work with other factions to achieve stability.
‘Will there be democracy? Probably not in the Western sense – but some kind of consultative system, possibly involving elections, could emerge,’ he said.
‘HTS seem clear that they want Islamic governance but also show awareness of minority rights. It is not clear that they will fall into the Taliban trap of ignoring domestic and international opinion, women’s rights and other key issues.’
In the meantime, HTS leader Golani has vowed to track down and bring to justice Syrian officials, army and security officers seen to have ‘tortured’ the Syrian people.
“We will not hesitate to hold accountable the criminals, murderers, security and army officers involved in torturing the Syrian people,’ Golani, now going by his original name Ahmed al-Sharaa, said.
