Assad and his family are in Russia, according to Kremlin source; 900 dead in rebel offensive | Live coverage of the fall of Assad in Syria

Joe Biden said on Sunday that Bashar al-Assad should be “held accountable” for the “hundreds of thousands of innocent Syrians” who have been “mistreated, tortured and killed.”

“We're not sure where he is, but word is that he's in Moscow,” said the American president during a speech at the White House, while Russian news agencies announced on Sunday evening that Bashar al-Assad and his family were in Moscow.

Joe Biden warned Sunday that “some of the rebel groups” involved in the lightning offensive that brought down Bashar al-Assad in Syria had a “history of terrorism and human rights abuses.”

“We've taken note of what the leaders of these rebel groups have said in recent days, and they're saying the right things right now, but as they prepare to take on greater responsibilities, we're going to evaluate not just their words, but their actions as well,” the U.S. president warned during an address at the White House.

Joe Biden said that the United States would be talking to “all Syrian groups” about the transition of power in the country after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad.

“We will engage with all Syrian groups, including through the United Nations-led process, to establish a transition ... to an independent, sovereign Syria ... with a new constitution, a new government to serve all Syrians,”,said the U.S. President in a speech at the White House.

Syrian rebels, who toppled Bashar al-Assad's rule with their lightning offensive, have “guaranteed the security” of Russian military bases in Syria, a Kremlin source told Russian agencies on Sunday.

“Russian officials are in contact with representatives of the Syrian armed opposition, whose leaders have guaranteed the security of Russian military bases and diplomatic institutions on the territory of Syria,” the source told state-run news agencies TASS and Ria Novosti.

⚡ Russia has announced that it has requested an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council for Monday on the situation in Syria, where a lightning offensive by rebel groups led by radical Islamists has toppled Bashar al-Assad's rule.

“In connection with the latest events in Syria, the depth and consequences of which for that country and the region as a whole have yet to be measured, Russia has requested urgent closed-door consultations of the U.N. Security Council,” Russia's deputy representative to the U.N., Dmitri Polianski, said on Telegram. The meeting is due to take place on Monday, he added.

U.N. chief Antonio Guterres on Sunday hailed “the fall of the dictatorial regime” of Bashar al-Assad in Syria and reiterated his call to protect “the rights of all Syrians.”

“After [nearly] 14 years of brutal war and the fall of the dictatorial regime, the Syrian people can now seize a historic opportunity to build a stable and peaceful future,” he said in a statement.

“I reiterate my call for calm and the avoidance of violence at this sensitive time, while protecting the rights of all Syrians, without distinction,” he continued.

Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and his family are in Moscow, Russian news agencies reported, citing a Kremlin source, after the fall of the Syrian authorities provoked by a lightning offensive by rebel groups led by radical Islamists.

“Assad and members of his family have arrived in Moscow. Russia, based on humanitarian considerations, has granted them asylum,” the source told the state-run TASS and Ria Novosti news agencies.

More than 900 people, including 138 civilians, have been killed since the start of the rebel offensive in Syria on Nov. 27, which toppled President Bashar al-Assad after 13 years of civil war, an NGO has reported.

“As a result of the fighting to topple Assad, 910 people have been killed: 392 rebels, 380 members of the forces of toppled President Assad and his allies, and 138 civilians,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

U.S. President Joe Biden will deliver remarks on the situation in Syria at 1 p.m. on Sunday, the White House said according to AFP.

The comments "on the latest developments in Syria" come after the president met with his national security advisors earlier in the day.

Saudi Arabia has declared its support for the Syrian people and their choices at this “critical stage,” following the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, reports Reuters.

Amnesty International stressed that the perpetrators of crimes committed under Bashar al-Assad's rule must be tried in “fair trials” excluding the death penalty, hailing a “historic opportunity” to break the spiral of violence.

“Alleged perpetrators of crimes under international law and other serious human rights violations must be investigated and, where appropriate, prosecuted for their crimes in fair trials excluding the death penalty,” said Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard in a statement.

Joe Biden will convene his advisors on Sunday to discuss the situation in Syria, a White House spokesman announced, after a lightning offensive by rebel groups that brought about the downfall of Bashar al-Assad.

“The president will meet with members of his national security team to be kept abreast of developments in the situation in Syria,” Sean Savett, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said on X.

In Baalbeck, youths fired at a vehicle with Syrian license plates carrying Syrians who had fled from Homs to Lebanon, according to our correspondent. 

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday welcomed the fact that “the state of barbarism” had “fallen” in Syria with the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, while stressing that France would remain “committed to the security of all” in the region.

“The state of barbarism has fallen. At last,” hailed the head of state on social network X, paying "tribute to the Syrian people, to their courage, to their patience."

The Lebanese Army has deployed extensively in the central Bekaa and is patrolling the road linking Taalbaya, Saadnayel, Barr Elias and Masnaa, as well as the eastern Bekaa jurd, reports our correspondent in the region, Sarah Abdallah.

Israeli aircraft carried out three air strikes against a major security complex in the Kafr Sousa district of Damascus, as well as against a research center where Iranian scientists were allegedly developing missiles, two security sources told Reuters on Sunday. These operations follow a previous series of strikes earlier in the day against Syrian army air bases in the south of the Syrian capital.

The leader of Syria's Islamist Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that headed a lightning rebel offensive snatching Damascus from government control visited the capital's landmark Umayyad Mosque Sunday, an AFP correspondent said.

HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, now using his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa, gave a speech as the crowd chanted "Allahu akbar," a video shared by the rebels on their Telegram channel showed. As he entered the mosque, crowds could be seen cheering him on, videos circulating online showed.

The Amal movement organized a funeral in Sour for those killed in the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel and temporarily buried in the city. Those killed, including Asaad Raslan, Bassam Moussawi and Mahdi Abdul Rida, were honored in the presence of religious and political figures, members of parliament and a large crowd from Sour and neighboring villages.

The ceremony opened with a fanfare by the Islamic Scouts, followed by a speech by MP Ayoub Hmayed, who called for Lebanese unity in the context of regional transformations. “Your pure blood defended the dignity and sacred cause of Palestine,” he declared, pledging his loyalty to the principles of Imam Moussa Sadr, founder of Amal.

United Nations war crimes investigators in Syria on Sunday hailed the fall of Bashar al-Assad but called for the “atrocities” committed by his regime to be “never repeated.”

“This day marks a historic new beginning for the Syrian people, who have suffered unspeakable violence and atrocities in the last 14 years,” said the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria in a statement, referring in particular to the fate of detainees.

“It is up to those who will be in charge from now on to ensure that such atrocities are never repeated again behind the walls of [Sednaya prison] or any other detention center in Syria,” they added.

The Israeli army's Arabic-speaking spokesman, Avichay Adraee, called on residents of the Syrian localities of Ofania, Quneitra, Hamidieh, Samdaniya al Gharbiya and Qahtaniya “to stay in their homes and not go out until further notice.” “The fighting in your areas has forced us to intervene, and we don't want to hurt you,” he said on X.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid responded to the events on the Syrian border and said on X that he "supports the expansion of the security zone until the situation becomes clearer," and said that Israel must act at the same time to build a regional coalition against the Iranian axis.

He added that Israeli leaders should "refrain from making unnecessary statements that could push the new Syrian government to engage in confrontation" with Israel. His remarks echo those of another Israeli opposition figure, Benny Gantz, who said during a visit to the occupied Golan that Israel must continue to put pressure on Iran so that "Syria and Lebanon are freed from Iranian rule."

"We must look beyond the Syrian arena. Iran is a fragile crutch, Hezbollah has been badly injured and its influence has weakened both in Lebanon and Syria. The Abraham Accords should be expanded to create a barrier against Iran," he said.

The Israeli army took control of the Syrian side of Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights to "prevent rebels from conquering the area," according to Haaretz. Several regional media reports had earlier stated that the Syrian government army had withdrawn from its positions earlier in the day.

Iraq called for "respect" for the will of the Syrian people and the territorial integrity of neighboring Syria, following the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"Iraq affirms the need to respect the will of all Syrians and stresses that the security, territorial integrity and independence of Syria are of paramount importance," government spokesperson Bassim al-Awadi said in a statement while reaffirming the importance of not "interfering in Syria's internal affairs, nor supporting one party in favor of another."

Women waiting to cross the border into Lebanon, on the Syrian side of the Masnaa checkpoint in the Bekaa. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient Today)

On the Syrian side of the Masnaa border crossing, dozens of families from Damascus wait on the porch, hoping to make the crossing to Lebanon.

“We left in a hurry with a few belongings. A plane to Iran is supposed to be chartered for us,” an Afghan woman in her twenties with her two children told L'Orient Today. Many of them come from the Shiite neighborhood of Sayyeda Zeinab, on the outskirts of the Syrian capital. One 90-year-old woman, an Azara from Afghanistan, was seen sitting in a wheelchair, wrapped in a blanket.

Further north, similar scenes are taking place at the border crossings in the northern Bekaa, where hundreds of families from the border towns of Rable, al-Qasr, Hosh al-Sayyed Ali and al-Musharrafeh have also fled to Lebanon after the rebel forces took over the city of Homs and its region.

On the Lebanese side of the Masnaa border crossing in the Bekaa. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine / L'Orient Today)

At the border crossings between Lebanon and Syria, a constant back-and-forth has been underway since this morning between Syrian refugees taking advantage of the fall of Bashar al-Assad to return to their country, and Syrians coming from pro-regime areas fleeing the arrival of the rebels.

In Arsal, in the north of the Bekaa, families of Syrian refugees opposed to the regime took to the road by car or motorbike, or even on foot, towards the Zamrani crossing point, which the Lebanese army decided to open towards Syria, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent. 

The Syrian opposition coalition said it was working to form a transitional governing body with full executive powers, adding in a post on X that it aspires to establish strategic partnerships in the region and around the world.

While information, sometimes contradictory, is circulating on social networks in Lebanon concerning the release of Lebanese from Syrian prisons, the caretaker Lebanese prime minister asked the Secretary General of the government, Mahmoud Makkieh, to follow up on this matter in coordination with the National Commission for the Disappeared and with the Follow-up Committee for Lebanese Detained in Syria.

In a statement, Najib Mikati called for "mobilizing all available resources and collaborating with the parties concerned" on this issue, which has long been neglected by the authorities. In turn, Makkieh contacted the two groups and asked them to hold an emergency meeting, which should take place in the coming hours. 

Iran's policy towards Syria is likely to evolve, Iran's Foreign Ministry warned, after the rebel coalition entered Damascus. Iran "will adopt an appropriate approach and positions" depending on "developments in Syria and the region, as well as the behavior of the actors" on the ground, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Syrian rebels announced the arrival of their leader, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, in Damascus, hours after the Syrian capital fell to the armed rebellion.

"Leader Ahmad al-Shareh (Jolani's real name) prostrated himself and kissed the ground" upon his arrival in Damascus, the Telegram channel of the rebel coalition, led by his party, announced. The footage shows the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) prostrating himself on a lawn.

"The fall of the Assad regime is a direct consequence of the blows we inflicted on Iran and Hezbollah," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech filmed near the Syrian border.

Jordanian King Abdullah II said he "respects the choices of the Syrian people" and stressed "the need to protect Syria's security," in a statement published by the state-run Jordanian news agency.

The Hashemite sovereign also urged to "avoid any conflict in Syria that could lead to chaos."

Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham rebel commander Abu Mohammad al-Jolani said in a statement read on Syrian state television after his forces captured Damascus that there was no room for "turning back" and that his group was determined to "continue the path it began in 2011 during the Arab Spring."

"The future is ours," al-Jolani said.

Troops from the Turkey-backed Syrian rebel "Free Syrian Army" have entered the northern Syrian city of Manbij after taking control of most of the surrounding area from Kurdish YPG forces there, a Turkish security source told Reuters.

"The fight against the YPG/PKK is very close to victory. Air and ground interventions are underway to take Manbij from the YPG/PKK," the source said, referring to the Kurdish militia, considered a terrorist group by Ankara, which opposes any buildup of Kurdish forces in Syria and along the Turkish border.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had stepped down and left the country after giving orders for a peaceful transfer of power. In a statement, the ministry did not specify Assad's current whereabouts and said Russia had not been involved in discussions about his departure, Reuters reported.

It also said that Russian military bases in Syria had been placed on high alert, although they were not facing a serious threat at the moment. The ministry said Moscow was in contact with all Syrian opposition groups and urged all sides to refrain from resorting to violence.

A toppled and destroyed statue of Hafez al-Assad in Damascus, Dec. 8, 2024. (Credit: Louai Beshara/AFP)

At the end of a lightning offensive launched on Nov. 28 in northern Syria from the Idlib pocket, the Syrian rebels, led by the Islamist group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), put an end in ten days to more than five decades of rule by the Assad family.

Since then, dozens of images and videos have been circulating on social networks.

From official announcements by the rebels to the release of prisoners from Sednaya prison to the forced entry into the presidential palace and the Iranian embassy, here is a non-exhaustive selection. 

Meanwhile, the war continues in the Gaza Strip, where the Health Ministry released a new report stating that at least 44,708 Palestinians were killed and 106,050 injured as a result of the Israeli military offensive on the Palestinian enclave since Oct. 7, 2023.

Syrian rebels announced a curfew in Damascus from 4 p.m. local time until 5 a.m., Reuters reports.

Israeli jets flew over Tripoli in North Lebanon following reports that Israel bombed Syrian government air bases. Israeli jets have been heard over Tripoli since the previous night after it was announced that the Syrian opposition had taken the city of Homs on its offensive toward Damascus.

The Lebanese army announced that it had reinforced its presence on the border with Syria. "Given the rapid developments and delicate circumstances in the region, the units responsible for monitoring and controlling the northern and eastern borders have been reinforced ... The units spread throughout Lebanon are implementing exceptional measures to maintain security and protect civil peace."

Hezbollah has reportedly withdrawn all its forces from Syria since yesterday, according to two Lebanese security sources cited by Reuters. This information comes as the party had, according to other sources, sent 2,000 fighters to Syria earlier this week to stop the advance of Syrian rebels toward Damascus.

A series of airstrikes, attributed to the Israeli air force, targeted several Syrian regime air bases. Several explosions were recorded in the Mazzeh district, in the southwest of Damascus, but also in Khalkhalah, about 50 kilometers south of the capital, according to regional intelligence sources cited by Reuters.

France "welcomes the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime" after "more than 13 years of extremely violent repression against its people," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine said on Sunday.

Paris "calls on all Syrians to unity, reconciliation, and to reject all forms of extremism," it continued in a statement that also called for "an end to the fighting, the maintenance of institutions and respect for the territorial sovereignty" of Syria.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also said the Syrian government had collapsed with the entry of Islamist rebels into Damascus.

"The Assad regime has collapsed and [power] in the country has changed hands," Fidan said from Doha. "Of course, this did not happen overnight. The country has been in turmoil for 13 years."

Fidan also said that the new Syrian administration must be inclusive, as the Syrian people would now decide their own future. Fidan further stated that the Syrian people were not able to rebuild alone and that international actors as well as regional powers must act with caution to preserve Syria's territorial integrity, warning of the possibility of terrorist organizations taking advantage of the situation.

Asked about Assad's whereabouts, Fidan said he could not comment on the matter but believed he was out of the country. He also said Turkey had no contact with Assad, despite a call by President Tayyip Erdogan for normalization talks. 

Hundreds of people wait at the Masnaa border crossing in Bekaa. (Credit: Matthieu Karam)

In Masnaa, hundreds of people are gathered around the border crossing between Lebanon and Syria. "Take a picture of us, we are not afraid anymore," one of them told L'Orient Today journalists at the crossing.

Inside the General Security building, many of them line up to register to return home.

“Yesterday was crazy,” said Amer*, a Syrian Druze from Majdal Shams. “There are people who slept outside, we are so happy. I will hang a picture of [Donald] Trump in my house,” he said.

Others are still hesitant to cross the border as long as the Syrian army maintains control of the border, "even if there is no longer a regime."

"We don't know what's on the road to the big cities, it's too risky."

Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham led the offensive that ultimately led to the overthrowing of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. They have been described as both Islamists and rebels. So how can they be defined?

Find out how here.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said international and regional actors should ensure a smooth transition in Syria following the fall of Damascus to rebels and the departure of President Bashar al-Assad.

"We have to work very hard with the Syrian people, not only with Turkey but also with regional actors, international actors, to make sure that the transition period goes well and smoothly, that civilians are not harmed any more," Fidan stressed before the Doha Forum in Qatar.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib announced in a joint statement after a meeting that they were "following with interest the current developments in Syria," stressing the need to "preserve the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria, as well as non-interference in its internal affairs."

In the statement, they emphasized "Lebanon's desire to establish the best relations with the Syrian state and its representatives, to preserve the common interests of the two countries."

"Lebanon also respects the will of the Syrian people, because it is up to them alone to choose their representatives, their political system and the future of their country for the good of Syria, while affirming the importance of good neighborly relations between Lebanon and Syria," the statement concluded.

The Syrian opposition flag was unfurled at the Syrian embassy in Athens, hours after opposition forces declared they had captured Damascus.

Greek news agency ANA said at least three men entered the embassy and unfurled the flag, which was seen hanging from the roof of the building. Officers were dispatched to the scene and three men were arrested.

Since the morning, gunfire in the air has been heard intermittently in Beirut.

In Bar Elias, a dozen kilometers from the border with Syria, fireworks and gunshots are being launched, according to L'Orient Today's reporter in the field.

"May your soul be cursed, Hafez," chant people present in the town, in reference to the father of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Some also insulted Hezbollah, an ally of the now-former government.

(Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient Today)

A scene of joy in the Bekaa, where Syrians wave the flag of the revolution on their way to the border, after the fall of the Assad regime. 

A source within the Lebanese General Security (GS) told L'Orient Today that the organization opened the Qaa and Masnaa border crossings to "facilitate the return of Syrians to their homes."

"The GS has completely facilitated the return of Syrians. They just need to arrive at the border crossing and express their willingness to return to Syria. Because that is what matters most to us," the source added. The Lebanese army also opened the illegal border crossing of Zamarani (between Arsal and the Syrian Qalamoun), it added.

An Israeli military source told Haaretz that he was "surprised by the speed of Assad's fall ... We will check that key weapons do not fall into the hands of the rebels."

Afaf Mashhadani, 24 years old and originally from Idlib, said: "We have our regime, that of the revolution."

The young woman, a refugee since 2011 in the Bar Elias camp, added: "Let people understand once and for all that we fought for our freedom, our dignity. We want a Syria for all, the Alawites, the Sunnis and the Christians."

Mohammad Amer and his son, in the Bekaa. (Credit: Matthieu Karam/L'Orient Today)

In the Bekaa, on the road leading to Syria, traffic is flowing smoothly. Several cars on the road to Shtaura are displaying flags of the Syrian revolution, according to L'Orient Today's reporters in the field. On the side of the road, people are distributing baklava, pastries and chocolates.

Interviewed, Mohammad Amer, who is originally from Qousseir, has been a refugee in the Bekaa since 2013.

"After 13 years," since the Syrian revolution was violently repressed, "we are finally going to build a country." 

"It's over with the words refugees, shabiha, prisons, all the oppression. We are going to be proud to be Syrians", he told L'Orient Today.

The Chinese government helped its citizens leave Syria, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Sunday. They added that Syria must ensure the safety of Chinese institutions and personnel and that the Chinese embassy in Syria continues to operate.

China hopes Syria "will return to stability as soon as possible."

The United States will continue to maintain its presence in eastern Syria and take necessary steps to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State, Daniel Shapiro, deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, said at the Manama Dialogue security conference in the Bahraini capital on Sunday. Speaking hours after the announcement of the fall of the Assad government, Shapiro called on all sides to protect civilians, especially minorities, and uphold international norms.

The Russian embassy in Syria said its staff were “safe” after the overthrow of President Assad and the capture of Damascus by rebel groups, the Russian news agency TASS reported on Sunday. “We are fine,” a Russian embassy staffer told TASS, without giving details on the diplomats’ whereabouts. The embassy had urged Russian nationals to leave the country on Friday.

Russia, a staunch ally of Assad, intervened decisively in 2015 to support him during the Syrian civil war, which began in 2011. Russian military bloggers have expressed concern about the fate of two strategically important Russian military installations in Syria.

Syrian rebels announced that they had launched an attack on Kurdish-led forces in the northern Syrian city of Manbij, according to a statement released on Sunday but dated Dec. 7 (Saturday) on X by the Syrian interim government's Defense Ministry.

The Iranian embassy was stormed by Syrian rebels after their capture of Damascus, the Iranian English-language television channel Press TV reported.

Iraq evacuated its embassy in Syria and transferred its staff to Lebanon, the Iraqi state news agency reported, cited by Reuters. The reasons for the evacuation were not made public. 

In Saida, a convoy of cars and mopeds is driving through the streets to celebrate the fall of the Assad government, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent. 

"The institutions of the Syrian state will be supervised by former Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Jalali until they are handed over," Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani said Sunday. In a statement signed with his real name Ahmad al-Shareh, the leader of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham banned military forces in Damascus from approaching public buildings and firing shots in the air in a bid to ensure an "orderly transition" after rebels declared the end of Bashar al-Assad's rule on Sunday morning after entering the streets of the capital.

A video showing rebels escorting Jalali out of his office was posted on the rebel group's official Telegram channel, saying they were escorting the former Syrian government leader to the Four Seasons Hotel in Damascus.

The diplomatic adviser to the President of the United Arab Emirates, Anwar Gargash, said he did not know whether Bashar al-Assad was in the United Arab Emirates or not.

"I don't know," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Manama security dialogue in Bahrain when asked about the fate of the ousted Syrian president. The latter considered that Assad had not used the "lifeline" offered to him by various Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates.

"Syria is not out of the woods yet. Extremism and terrorism remain a major concern," he added.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "fled" Syria after losing the support of his patron Russia, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump claimed on his Truth Social platform.

"Assad is gone. He fled his country. His protector, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, no longer wanted to protect him," wrote the American president-elect, according to whom Russia "has lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where nearly 600,000 Russian soldiers are wounded or dead, in a war that should never have started and that could last forever."

The Syrian embassy in Doha issued a statement saying that “the dawn of freedom has dawned and Syria has been liberated from the grip of tyranny.”

“Our people have endured unspeakable injustices for decades, refusing to submit to the perpetrators of the gravest crimes that have harmed human dignity and the nation’s resources,” the embassy said, adding that the people will now rebuild the country as a homeland for all Syrians. “We send this message to all our people: The road ahead is long and fraught with challenges. We must reach out to each other, united in the responsibility to rebuild our country and establish a future worthy of this great homeland.”

Israeli lawmakers have called on Benjamin Netanyahu's government to take control of Syria's Golan Heights to establish a "buffer zone with the new jihadist regime."

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli wrote on X that after the fall of the Assad regime, "Israel must re-establish its control over the summit of Mount Hermon and establish a new defense zone based on the 1974 ceasefire line."

MK Tzvi Succot added that "Israel must establish a security zone in light of the new jihadist regime in Syria, which should include the Syrian Golan Heights and significant territory near the border." He added that "the political and military cost" of such a move "is probably lower than ever," while the security benefit it will bring "is immense."

The Syrian army said early this morning that its forces are continuing their military operations against "terrorist groups" in the countryside of Hama, Homs and Deraa. This statement comes after rebel forces announced on television that they had liberated Damascus and freed Damascus from the Assad regime.

The Syrian army said it was necessary to be aware of what it described as a large-scale plot targeting the country, and urged citizens to remain vigilant to defend Syria's stability and sovereignty.

Jordan insisted on the importance of preserving the stability and security of Syria, the state news agency reported, following the fall of the Assad government. Jordan added that the strengthening of security in the region "is underway," according to the news agency.

Non-state actors should not be allowed to exploit political vacuums, the diplomatic adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates said, shortly after Syrian rebels declared the fall of the Assad regime.

“The events unfolding in Syria are also a clear indication of the political failure and the destructive nature of conflict and chaos,” Anwar Gargash told the Manama Dialogue security forum, in the UAE’s first official comments on the issue.

The Israeli military said it had deployed forces in the U.N.-monitored buffer zone on its border with Syria, as well as at several points deemed necessary for defense, in light of recent events in Syria.

Syria's telecommunications minister told al-Arabiya TV that telecommunications services are functioning normally across the country, with internet access restored in Hama. He added that he had also spoken with Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the top commander of the Syrian rebel forces, shortly after the Syrian prime minister said he had spoken with him as well.

Kurdish forces commander hails " historic" moment of fall of "dictator" regime

(Credit: Louai Beshara/AFP)

Syrians gathered in Umayyad Square in Damascus on Dec. 8, 2024. On the ground, a sign announcing the name of the street Bassel al-Assad, elder brother of Bashar al-Assad. 

U.S. President Joe Biden is closely following "the extraordinary events" underway in Syria, the White House said overnight.

“President Biden and his team are closely monitoring the extraordinary events in Syria and are in constant contact with our regional contacts,” U.S. National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said on social media.

In Lebanon, hundreds of people celebrated in Tripoli and Akkar, in the north of the country, the announcement of the capture of Homs and Damascus by Syrian rebels. Scenes of jubilation and shots fired in the air were reported by L'Orient Today's correspondent, notably in Al-Nour Square in Tripoli, in Bebnine and Halba.  

AFP reports that in Damascus, Syrians are trampling a statue of Hafez al-Assad, father of President Bashar al-Assad.

Rebel groups announced in a speech on Syrian state television the fall of the "tyrant" Bashar al-Assad, adding that they had freed all the prisoners "unjustly" detained, calling on citizens and fighters to preserve state property.

Nine people appeared on the state television screen. One of them read a statement attributed to the "operations cell for the liberation of Damascus," which announced "the liberation of the city of Damascus, the fall of the tyrant Bashar al-Assad, the release of all prisoners unjustly (detained) in the regime's prisons."

People stand on a toppled statue of former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, father of Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus on Dec. 8, 2024. (Credit: Louai Beshara/AFP)

The HTS commander called on his fighters not to approach public institutions in Damascus, which remain under the prime minister's control until an "official handover."

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad al-Jalali said he was ready to cooperate with any new "leadership" chosen by the people, specifying that he would be in his offices at the government headquarters on Sunday morning for any "transfer" of power.

"This country can be a normal country, building good relations with its neighbors and with the world ... but this issue will be the responsibility of any leadership that the Syrian people choose, and we are ready to cooperate and provide them with all possible facilities," he said in a video posted on his Facebook account.

Before the withdrawal of armed forces from Damascus airport, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had left Syria, according to the SOHR.

"Assad left Syria via Damascus airport, before the withdrawal of members of the armed and security forces" from the site, the director of the SOHR, Rami Abdel Rahman, told AFP.

The Syrian rebels announced that they had taken Sednaya prison in Damascus and freed the prisoners in this penitentiary establishment, a symbol of the worst abuses by the forces of President Bashar al-Assad.

"End of tyranny in Sednaya prison," wrote the Islamist group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which leads the rebel coalition, on Telegram. " The doors of Sednaya prison, known as the 'human slaughterhouse', have been opened for thousands of prisoners," the SOHR confirmed.

During the night, the Syrian army and security forces also left Damascus airport in the face of the advance of rebel forces who announced they wanted to take the capital, according to the SOHR quoted by AFP. According to sources from the Britain-based NGO, the order was given to officers and soldiers of the government forces to withdraw from Damascus international airport, while residents of the capital told AFP that they had heard gunshots in the city.

A withdrawal that took place while the Israeli army carried out a series of airstrikes on border posts in the Bekaa, from Qaa to Hermel. The Israeli army has been regularly bombing these infrastructures since the cease-fire, saying it is targeting Hezbollah's "smuggling routes."

The Lebanese army had deployed widely along the border between Lebanon and Syria, from Qaa to Hermel, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent. 

Hezbollah, which had been announced earlier in the day to have deployed 2,000 fighters to support the Assad regime, has withdrawn its forces from the outskirts of Damascus and the Homs region (western Syria), a source close to the party told AFP.

The group "has asked its fighters in recent hours to withdraw from the Homs region, some heading towards Latakia (west coast of Syria) and others towards the Hermel region in Lebanon," this source told AFP, specifying that "Hezbollah fighters have also left their positions around Damascus."

Developments of the night:

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) announced yesterday evening that the rebels had entered the strategic city of Homs, located in central Syria north of Damascus, where they had taken control of several neighborhoods.

Information denied by the Ministry of Defense, while in a message on Telegram, an important commander of the rebel coalition, Hassan Abdel Ghani, had declared: "our forces have started to advance in the city of Homs."

After the capture of Homs, a rebel leader claimed that 3,500 prisoners were released from regime jails in the city.

For his part, the leader of the Islamist group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, described the takeover of Homs as "historic."

Good morning!

Thank you for joining us for our live coverage of the fall of the Assad government following a surprise rebel offensive in Syria.