Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, has fallen and fled to Russia after rebel forces entered the capital Damascus, capping a stunning advance across the country in an extraordinary day for Syria.
Here is everything we know so far:
Reports in Russia have said Bashar al-Assad and family have been granted asylum in Moscow after Syrian anti-government rebels declared they had seized control of Damascus on Sunday, ending his family’s decades of autocratic rule after more than 13 years of civil war.
Rebel commander Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, leader of Syria’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, visited Damascus’ landmark Umayyad Mosque on Sunday. He said in an earlier statement read on Syria’s state TV that “the future is ours”. He has reportedly said that all state institutions will remain under the supervision of al-Assad’s prime minister until they are handed over officially.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Sunday praised the end of Syria’s “dictatorial regime” and called on the country to focus on rebuilding. “After 14 years of brutal war and the fall of the dictatorial regime, today the people of Syria can seize an historic opportunity to build a stable and peaceful future,” Guterres said in a statement.
Footage shows the Damascus residence of Bashar al-Assad has been stormed and almost emptied by looters. There were reports earlier today that the Iranian embassy in Damascus was attacked.
As armed rebels swept cities across Syria, they flung open detention facilities where rights groups estimated that at least 100,000 people were considered missing or forcibly disappeared since 2011 at the hands of the state. This included the Sednaya military prison, a facility notorious as the site of particularly brutal and humiliating methods of torture.
Arab states will seek to avert the threat of a reignited Syrian civil war by starting an open dialogue with all the forces on the ground to ensure any transition is inclusive of all Syrians regardless of ethnicity, Qatar’s foreign ministry has said.
In Europe, Spain’s foreign ministry has urged for there to be an “inclusive political transition” in Syria, while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU would help to rebuild a Syria that safeguards minorities.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the collapse of the Assad regime “offers great opportunity”, but warned that it is also “fraught with significant dangers”, adding that he will “take action against possible threats (to Israel)”. Israel airstrikes were later reported against a major security complex in the Kafr Sousa district of Damascus, along with a research centre where it had previously said Iranian scientists developed missiles.
The Pentagon has said the US will keep a presence in eastern Syria and take the appropriate steps to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State.
US president-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday that Assad had “fled his country” after losing the backing of Russia. “Assad is gone,” he said on his Truth Social platform. “His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer.”
Iraq has reportedly evacuated its embassy in Syria and moved staff to Lebanon, hours after rebels overthrew Assad and took control of the capital. Reasons behind the evacuation were not made public
Syria’s White Helmets civil defence forces has released a statement about the extraordinary events of the past few days. “The sun of freedom rises on the Syrians... the moment that has been long awaited for years... even decades... Syria, the homeland, is writing history today,” the group said in a video statement posted on X.
