Syrian Rebel Flag Hoisted at Syrian Embassy in Moscow

A group of men raised the Syrian opposition flag atop the country’s embassy in Moscow on Monday.

Former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, whose regime was backed by the Kremlin, was ousted on Sunday and reportedly sought refuge in Moscow alongside his family.

However, an embassy representative told Russian state media TASS that the embassy resumes work under the new flag, hinting at its approval.

“Today the embassy opened and is working normally under a new flag,” the representative said.

TASS said the official flag of the deposed regime was “taken down the day before after the opposition took over power in the country” and the opposition flag was raised on Monday morning. 

An AFP journalist who witnessed the act said the men clapped and sang as they raised the flag under falling snow.

The flag, which is a modified version of the flag first used in 1932 when Syria gained independence from France, features three red stars in the middle and is used by the opposition to demonstrate independence from the Assad regime.

Assad had ruled Syria with an iron fist for more than two decades, albeit relying on backing from Tehran and Moscow in recent years, but the regime fell on Sunday morning as rebels marched into the country’s capital Damascus following a lightning offensive.

The overthrowing of Assad marked an important chapter in the Syrian Civil War that started in 2011 and rekindled a conflict that has largely remained quiet in recent years, prompting widespread uncertainty in the region.

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