MOSCOW, December 9. /TASS/. People in Syria’s capital city, Damascus, are going about their normal lives, with shops open and no shooting heard, witnesses told TASS.
"There is no shooting at all. The city is going about its business, with marketplaces and shops being open," a witness told TASS over the phone. "There are no armed people in the streets. We are waiting to see what the new authorities do."
Syria’s armed opposition units launched a large-scale offensive on government troops in the Aleppo and Idlib governorates on November 27. By the evening on 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, Assad stepped down and fled the country.