SAA event in Damascus, Kfar Sousa area, Syrian Arab Republic on Sat 30th November 2024

The sounds of gunfire were heard in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Saturday night as speculation grew that an attempted coup d’etat was under way.

The official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) state television network was off the air Saturday night, and the news outlet’s Arabic and English language websites were unreachable as well.

Explosions and gunfire were heard near the general staff and state media building in the capital.

Local sources said Brigadier General Hassam Louka, chief of the regime’s general security directorate was attempting to oust President Bashar al-Assad, who was out of the country on Saturday.

Assad’s whereabouts are currently unknown. Earlier in the evening, a Russian military plane landed at Damascus International Airport on Saturday night, with speculation that Assad was aboard and returning from meetings in Moscow. The plane departed from Damascus about an hour later.

There were also multiple reports that Assad and his family are in Moscow, including at least one report in Turkish media.

Clashes were reported between the Syrian Republican Guard and the Syrian Arab Army’s 4th Division in the Kfar Sousa district of Damascus, with gunfire directed at various government buildings.

Meanwhile, a coalition of rebel Islamist militant groups seized control Friday night over Syria’s northern commercial hub and second-largest city, Aleppo. The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly Jabhat al-Nusra) has also taken control over the Jebrin and Al-Sawaeq sections of the city of Hama, south of Aleppo.

According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, HTS forces were in control of 26 towns and cities in the northern countryside of Hama by Saturday night and advancing on the outskirts of Alawite villages in the area.

Separate reports indicated HTS forces were continuing south from Hama and heading for Homs. Unconfirmed reports claimed Assad regime forces were seen destroying their own weapon warehouses in the Homs countryside.