BEIRUT, December 8. /TASS/. Syria’s Justice Minister Ahmad Sayyed has said he expects that transition of power in the country will proceed smoothly.
"The political transition process will be smooth," he told the Al Arabiya television channel, adding that "there will be no civil war in the country."
He admitted however that neither himself nor other Syrian cabinet members had anticipated such rapid developments in Syria. Touching upon Bashar Assad’s future, he said, "No one knows where he is heading or what has happened to him."
Armed Syrian opposition units launched a large-scale offensive on government troops in the Aleppo and Idlib governorates on November 27. By December 7, Syrian President Bashar Assad’s opponents had seized several large cities, including Aleppo, Hama, Deir ez-Zor, Daraa, and Homs. On Sunday morning, they entered Damascus and government troops withdrew from the city. Following intra-Syrian talks, President Assad stepped down and fled the country.