The army command issued the statement early on Sunday following reports of the armed groups’ entrance in Damascus and Assad’s departure from the city.
Reuters, citing two army officers, said that Assad had earlier on Sunday flown out of Damascus for an unknown destination before the groups reached the city.
Meanwhile, Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali said he was ready to hand over the administration of the Arab country to a transitional government.
“I am in my house and I have not left, and this is because of my belonging to this country,” he said in a video statement.
Al-Jalali further said that he is ready to cooperate with any leadership chosen by the Syrian people, and that he will not leave his home until a “peaceful transition” is achieved.
He also urged all parties to think “rationally,” adding that he extends his hand in cooperation to everyone, including members of the opposition.
Meanwhile, Hadi al-Bahra, head of the Syrian National Coalition, which is a coalition of opposition groups abroad, said that the “situation is safe, and there is no room for revenge or retaliation.”
He told Al-Arabiya that “public institutions will resume operations within two days”, and that the “transfer of power will take place in cooperation with the United Nations.”
Armed groups, led by the HTS, began an offensive to overthrow the Assad government from their stronghold in the western province of Idlib on November 27.
They initially targeted the countryside around Idlib and neighboring Aleppo, and soon afterward, captured several Syrian cities, including Hama, Homs, Dara’a, and Suwayda.