Syrian president leaves Damascus on plane as army says his rule ends

Mr Assad has left office and the country after giving orders for there to be a peaceful transfer of power, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

It did not say where he was, but said Russia had not been involved in the talks surrounding his departure.

Moscow was in touch with all Syrian opposition groups, it said, and urged all sides to refrain from violence.

Russia's military bases in Syria had been put on a state of high alert, but that there was no serious threat to them at the current time, the ministry added.

Mr Assad's whereabouts now - and those of his wife Asma and their two children - remain unknown.

The rebels, made up of various opposition groups, said they were working to transition power to a new governing body.

"The great Syrian revolution has moved from the stage of struggle to overthrow the Assad regime to the struggle to build a Syria together that befits the sacrifices of its people," the coalition said in a statement, describing events as a new birth for "great Syria".

Syria's prime minister, who remains in the country, said he was ready to cooperate and offered a peaceful transition.

"I am here in my home," Mohammad Ghazi al Jalali said. "I have not left it and do not intend to leave, except in a peaceful manner that ensures the continued functioning of public institutions and state facilities, promoting security and reassurance for our fellow citizens."

Thousands celebrating in the streets

Thousands of Syrians, in cars and on foot, have congregated at a main square in Damascus chanting for freedom, according to Reuters.

Saturday's advances on the capital marked the first time the rebels reached the outskirts of the city since 2018, when government forces recaptured the area after a years-long siege.

In Homs, thousands more filled the streets after the army withdrew from the city, dancing and chanting "Assad is gone, Homs is free", and "Long live Syria and down with Bashar al Assad".

Footage circulating on social media showed families ransacking the presidential palace.

Soldiers were reported to have deserted their posts and changed into civilian clothes as the rebels closed in.

Mohammed Amer al Oulabi, 44, who works in the electricity sector, was one of many celebrating on the streets.

"From Idlib to Damascus, it only took them (the opposition forces) a few days, thank God. May God bless them, the heroic lions who made us proud," he said.

The country's international airport in Damascus has been abandoned and rebels said they had entered the notorious Saydnaya military prison north of the capital and freed inmates there.

Iran's embassy was also stormed by Syrian rebels, Iran's English-language Press TV reported.

In a sign of perhaps what was to come - protesters on Saturday brought down a statue of the president's late father in a main square in a suburb a few miles from the centre of the capital.

Gunfire was reported in the centre of Damascus, two residents told Reuters on Sunday, although it was not immediately clear what the source of the shooting was.

Hayat Tahrir al Sham commander Abu Mohammed al Golani, the main rebel leader, called the capture of Homs a historic moment and urged fighters not to harm "those who drop their arms".

The rebels have also claimed Deir el Zor in the east, and Suweida, Quneitra and Deraa in the south.

Fifty-four years of brutal Assad dynasty rule has come to an end. The streets of Damascus have erupted in celebration, President Assad has fled the country and the capital has fallen.

What comes next is of great concern. Syria is deeply divided, geographically and socially. This is a moment of huge peril.

Once the euphoria cools there will be deep hatred and anger towards former Assad loyalists after decades of murderous rule. Containing that will be difficult.

Who will govern Syria is unknown. Multiple rebel groups control different parts of the country and, we assume, they will all want their slice of power. That is a recipe for further civil war unless this can be managed in an orderly way.

Syria's prime minister, Mohammed Ghazi al Jalali, has remained in Damascus and offered a peaceful transition. How he is treated will be a good indicator.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the main group that started this rebellion with the capture of Aleppo, was once affiliated with Al Qaeda. It has renounced those links but remain a proscribed terror organisation by the US and others.

Russia and Iran, Assad's two main state sponsors, abandoned him when his fate seemed inevitable. It's unlikely they will abandon Syria quite so quickly though. Moscow has key military bases on the Mediterranean coast which opens up a part of the world to them – giving these up would be a huge strategic blow.

To Iran, Syria was a centrepiece in its axis of resistance, the funnel through which weapons were channelled to Hezbollah and vital territory in its arc of influence. But Assad and Hezbollah have now both collapsed, and Iran's network of Shia influence is in tatters.

It's a new dawn for Syria, but there are dark clouds on the horizon.

US President Joe Biden and his team are monitoring the "extraordinary events" and are in touch with regional partners, the White House said this morning.

Daniel Shapiro, from the US Department of Defense, said they would continue to maintain their presence in eastern Syria "solely to ensure the enduring defeat" of the Islamic State.

President-elect Donald Trump said the US should not get involved in the conflict.

"Syria is a mess," he posted on his social media site Truth Social, adding the country is "not our friend".

In a fresh post this morning, he added: "Assad is gone. He has fled his country. His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by [Russian President] Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer.

"Russia and Iran are in a weakened state right now, one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, the other because of Israel and its fighting success."

Mr Assad had relied on his main allies, Russia and Iran, to counter insurgencies during his decades in power.

But with Russia now busy with its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Iran's proxies Hezbollah and Hamas embroiled in a conflict with Israel, Syria's army was left exposed.

Konstantin Kosachyov, deputy chairman of Russia's upper house of parliament, said this morning that Syrians will have to cope with a full-scale civil war themselves, Interfax news agency reports.

The UN's special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, urged all Syrians to prioritise dialogue, unity, and respect for international humanitarian law and human rights as they seek to rebuild their society.

He also said he stands ready to support the Syrian people in their journey toward a stable and inclusive future.

British Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner told Sky's Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips she "welcomed" news of Assad's regime falling, adding: "He wasn't exactly good to the Syrian people."

Describing the situation in the war-torn Middle Eastern country as appearing to be "very serious", Ms Rayner said: "We want to see a political resolution so that we can get that stability for Syrians and make sure that they have their infrastructure so that they have a political government there that is working in the interest of the Syrian people."

Asked for her message to UK citizens in Syria, Ms Rayner said the foreign secretary was "very clear" that they should leave.

"We've had a plan to ensure that people were evacuated ahead of what's happened over the weekend and we continue to support our UK nationals," she added.

-SKY NEWS