The last rebel group in the Ghouta pocket near Damascus expressed interest in coming to terms for laying down their arms and relocating to other rebel territory:
Rebel fighters with the Jaish al-Islam group in the Syrian town of Douma, near the capital Damascus, have expressed readiness to lay down their arms and leave the town, Russia's RIA news agency quoted a Russian General Staff official as saying.
I suspect the signal that the rebellion/civil war is over and won by Assad will be the first relocation deal where Assad simply slaughters the rebels who turn in their weapons rather than relocate them.
That would mean that Assad and his allies have been able to divide and conquer enough of his enemies (and to be sure, the rebels have always been divided so the issue was exploiting the divisions rather than creating them) to be sure that they don't need any more of those deals that let an enemy live to fight another day. So Assad might as well kill a lot of rebels when they make it easy by gathering and turning in weapons.
Not that such a signal victory means fighting is over or that Assad can rest easy in his palace.
Too many foreign actors are involved in Syria today for this to be a simple mission accomplished moment. Assad cannot stand on his own.
And too many of Assad's supporters have suffered tremendous losses. Some of them may want Assad removed just for paying too high a price for his victory.
