Syrian rebels said they had entered Damascus early Sunday local time, in the crucial stage of a lightning advance of less than two weeks after 13 years of civil war in the Middle Eastern nation. The whereabouts of President Bashar al-Assad were unknown.

Syrian rebels appear to have entered the capital Damascus after facing scant resistance from regime forces, as President Bashar al-Assad’s decades-long grip on power appeared to wane by the minute.

We declare the city of Damascus free from the tyrant Bashar al-Assad,” a rebel leader said on WhatsApp. “To the displaced people around the world, Free Syria awaits you.”