section_path: Opposition takeover/Dissolution of the Syrian government
section_name: Dissolution of the Syrian government
paragraph_text: Dissolution of the Syrian government
  
  Following Assad's departure, the Syrian Arab Army Command gave an announcement to its soldiers and officers that they were no longer in service as of 8 December 2024, claiming the Assad government had ceased to exist. Rebel forces took control over local TV stations and broadcast a message announcing victory against Assad's forces. At this point, organized resistance to the takeover ceased. Syrian army divisions were reported to be abandoning their uniforms and weapons to change into civilian clothing during and after the fall of Damascus.
  
  Certain figures of the dissolved government, such as Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali, remained in Damascus and promised to cooperate with the opposition. However, many members of the government, especially those involved in military activities, have fled the country and their current whereabouts are unknown. Others are believed to be taking refuge in their hometowns in Alawite-majority areas. Besides Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher, the fugitives include Minister of Defence Ali Mahmoud Abbas, Minister of the Interior Mohammad Khaled al-Rahmoun, the Chief of the General Staff Abdul Karim Mahmoud Ibrahim, and the head of the National Security Office Kifah Moulhem, alongside several others. The new Syrian government has offered rewards for information leading to the capture of fugitives involved in the previous government's military and prison apparatus. On 26 December, Mohammad Kanjo Hassan, the former head of the Syrian Arab Army's field court and chief of military justice was arrested in Tartus for sentencing "thousands of people" to death during the civil war. The SOHR said that nearly 300 Assad loyalists had been arrested nationwide by 29 December.