CNN
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Syrian rebels appear to have entered the capital Damascus after facing little resistance from regime forces as President Bashar al-Assad’s decades-long hold on power appeared to be waning by the minute.

“The rebels are in Barzeh,” a neighborhood in the city of Damascus, a resident told CNN, adding that clashes are currently taking place.

Early Sunday morning, a source familiar with the rebel advance told CNN: “Militarily, Damascus has fallen.”

Hours earlier, Syria’s largest armed opposition group said it had “completely liberated” the major city of Homs, north of the capital. Syrians were seen tearing down and setting fire to Assad posters after rebels entered the city. Scenes reminiscent of pro-democracy protests in the city during the Arab Spring more than a decade ago.

Just a day ago, observers said Homs was of enormous strategic importance to the rebels because its capture effectively split the Assad regime in two and cut off the government in Damascus from the coast. But on Sunday morning it was not clear that there was still a functioning regime to speak of.

The rebel advance was surprisingly rapid. After breaking out of its territory in northwestern Idlib province, the largest rebel group captured Aleppo and Hama in just over a week of fighting. Both groups turned their attention to Damascus after they were joined by a new uprising in the southern province of Daraa on Friday.

“We were able to liberate four Syrian cities within 24 hours: Daraa, Quneitra, Suwayda and Homs,” said Lt. Col. Hassan Abdul Ghani, a spokesman for the largest rebel group. “Our operations continue to liberate the entire Damascus area and our sights are set on the capital, Damascus.”

Earlier on Saturday, southern rebels said they had reached “the gates of Damascus.” Videos geolocated by CNN showed residents in the suburb of Jaramana toppling a giant statue of Assad’s father, former President Hafez al-Assad. During the evening, rebels were active in several suburbs just a few kilometers from the presidential palace.

The regime had been expected to strengthen its defense of Damascus, but the rebels said senior Assad regime officials were preparing to defect to them in the capital.

Although the official statement from the Syrian presidential office is that Assad has not fled, a source familiar with the situation told CNN that Assad is nowhere to be found in Damascus.

After regime forces left Homs, residents began flooding the streets in celebration. Videos geolocated by CNN showed residents tearing apart posters of Assad and his father on the roof of the officers’ club in the city center.

The scenes recall one of the most iconic images of Syria’s Arab Spring, when pro-democracy protesters tore down Assad posters on the same gates in 2011.

Nearby, residents were also seen celebrating in Clock Tower Square, one of the focal points of the original anti-government protests.

To suppress these protests, the regime’s army launched a brutal attack on the city’s Khalidiya district in 2012. They attacked civilian houses with tanks and mortars, causing some of them to collapse. Regime forces stormed the area and slaughtered families in their homes. Around 200 people are said to have died in the massacre.

In a video broadcast live from Clock Tower Square late Saturday, a resident threw a framed portrait of Assad onto the ground, causing the glass to shatter. Over the course of 10 minutes, Syrians filled the square, cheering the increasingly apparent collapse of the Assad regime.