Rebels to form interim government after al-Assad flees

Association for Detainees and the Missing in Saydnaya Prison (ADMSP) says there are no prisoners trapped underground in notorious Damascus prison, Sednaya.

"There is no truth to the presence of detainees trapped underground, and the information contained in some press reports is inaccurate," the group said.

Earlier today, Syrian civil defence group The White Helmets said that they were investigating evidence of inmates trapped underground in the prison.

"The association and its team present inside Saydnaya prison confirm that it is empty of all detainees in all its buildings," ADMSP said.

Tens of thousands of inmates have been freed in Syria as al-Assad's regime fell over the weekend.

Germany's Foreign Office has said it would judge the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that swept through Damascus over the weekend by its "actions" and acknowledged it was "trying to chart a different course".

Spokesman Sebastian Fischer said there were concerns over the group's past links to al-Qaida but said the group had "tried in recent months and years to distance itself from its jihadist origins and also to build up civil structures".

Fischer said that HTS would be judged by how they deal with civilians and "minorities in the area they now control" Fischer said, echoing the words of UK minister Pat McFadden who said that HTS' label as a terrorist organisation would be reviewed by the British government.

Syria's new administration overseen by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has appointed key official Mohammed al-Bashir as prime minister, reports said on Monday.

Current prime minister Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali said he would remain in the role to ensure the smooth transfer of power after ousted leader Bashar al-Assad fled, reportedly to Russia where he has been granted asylum.

Al-Bashir previously led Salvation Government, a group affiliated with HTS, which governed parts of northwestern Syria and Idlib.

He looks set to lead Syria through this transitional phase, with the urgent task of forming a new government to manage the transition of power.

Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees has put a hold on asylum applications from Syria on Monday, according to local media, citing a spokesperson saying the decision was made as Syria's politicial future is currently too uncertain.

The decision would impact 47,000 people.

Austria's Interior Ministry also said it would pause applications, impacting 7,300 people.

Germany and Austria freeze Syrian asylum applications, local media report

The decision comes as millions of refugees are now able to return to Syria following the fall of al-Assad’s regime. #EuropeNews…

"The new reality in Syria may prove beneficial for some actors and detrimental for others — and there is no simple explanation, as there never has been for the last 13 years" write Euronews' Turkey Bureau Chief Emre Basaran.

One of those losers could be Moscow, "One of the key factors for the sudden downfall of the al-Assad administration lies further up north, in Ukraine.

Russia has been on a brutal all-out war of aggression against its neighbour for nearly three years now, which Moscow sees as crucial to Russia’s long-term interests.

This means that Russian President Vladimir Putin either did not have the option or did not find it feasible to allocate the much-needed resources to prop up and keep al-Assad in power.

With Syria’s Mediterranean coast, where Russia’s crucial Tartous naval base is located, also falling under the control of the opposition, we are yet to see whether the Kremlin will be able to retain its military influence on the country it has invested in for decades".

Read more analysis in the link below.

Who are the key players in Syria and who stands to gain or lose?

The new reality in Syria may prove beneficial for some actors and detrimental for others — and there is no simple explanation, as there never has been……

Tens of thousands have been released from Syrian prisons, according to reports.

Videos posted on social media show Syrians investigating reports of underground tunnels in one Damascus prison: Sednaya, a location humanitarian aid groups have described as a "human slaughterhouse" rife with reports of routine executions.

The White Helmets, a Syrian civil defence group, sounded the alarm that they deployed five specialist teams to investigate reports hidden underground cells but later said that they had not yet found evidence of underground cells.

Julien Barnes-Dacey, director of the MENA programme at the European Council of Foreign Relations, said that Europeans should approach the fall of the al-Assad regime with caution, but ultimately "work to incentivise this positive trajectory".

"Europeans should, first and foremost, concentrate on the great opportunity presented by Assad’s demise, recognising that the fall of the core driver of instability, brutal violence and refugee outflows from Syria has departed the scene".

According to Barnes-Dacey, Europe should work to support an "inclusive Syrian-led power-sharing transition" which would be the only pathway to promoting European interests in the region.

"Amid concern, the biggest hope should lie in the agency of Syrians themselves. They, more than any outsiders, long for a stabilising transition, having already internalised the cost of conflict. HTS is perhaps the clearest example of this: it has moderated its ideological position, broken with al-Qaida, and committed to an inclusive process that protects the rights of all Syrians, as demonstrated by initial reassuring outreach to the country’s minorities. It has also worked quickly to protect state institutions, including initially keeping Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali, Assad’s last prime minister in place, to prevent the country’s descent into new chaos".

"Europeans may doubt these commitments but should work to incentivise this positive trajectory. They need to approach the situation with considerable modesty and caution but can start by extending new backing to the prospect of an energised, UN-supported process that may – amid the cacophony of actors – be the only means of drawing together various internal and external players," Barnes-Dacey said.

"The new government will begin its work immediately after its formation,” said Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in a post on their Telegram channel.

The group said they would take over from the transitional government in place after leader al-Assad fled, but did not provide a specific date.

Who are HTS?

HTS is considered the leader of a group of rebels that swept through Syria over the weekend, along with an umbrella group of Turkish-backed Syrian militias called the Syrian National Army.

Its founder, Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, once took part in the Iraqi insurgency against the US, parts of which splintered to eventually become the so-called Islamic State (IS) group.

HTS previously declared its allegiance to al-Qaida but broke off ties with the organisation in 2016 and rebranded as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

The group is considered a terrorist organisation by the US and the United Nations, and has been plagued with human rights concerns in the area it controls, including reports it has been responsible for executing those it considered enemies and those accused of blasphemy and adultery.

Prime Minister  Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali has said that he, and other cabinet ministers, will remain in their posts in order to ensure the smooth transfer of power.

“We are working so that the transitional period is quick and smooth,” he said during an interview with Sky News Arabia TV.

On Sunday, al-Jalali said he had no intention of leaving the county as al-Assad fled, emphasising that he expected to guarantee the "continuity of the public authorities and the institutions and the state apparatus and to guarantee the safety and security for all citizens,” in a video statement.

The European Union said it wouldn't engage with rebels from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group that spearheaded the collapse of al-Assad's regime.

"As HTS takes on greater responsibility, we need to assess not only their words but also their actions" a Commission spokesperson said.

The EU added it would review its policy towards Syria on Monday, when foreign ministers are set to meet in Brussels.

Earlier, British minister Pat McFadden signalled that the UK would review HTS' status as a terrorist organisation in the UK, adding that the government would be watching whether the group signals it would protect minorities and citizens.

Tens of thousands of prisoners have been freed from Syrian prisons, according to Associated Press.

One, 63-year-old Bashar Barhoum, woke in his cell in Damascus on Sunday thinking he would be executed. Instead, he found that rebel groups who sweeped through Syria's capital over the weekend.

“I haven’t seen the sun until today,” Barhoum said. “Instead of being dead tomorrow, thank God, he gave me a new lease of life”.

Videos circulating on social media have shown thousands of prisoners celebrating after being released, including those from the infamous Sednaya Prison, a place that Amnesty International described as a "human slaughterhouse" in 2017.

Other videos, which have not been independently verified by Euronews, show rebell fighters investigating reports of underground prison cells in Sednaya.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russian president personally granted fallen leader al-Assad's asylum in Moscow, although there were currently no plans for the two to meet.

In his daily briefing, Peskov also said it was "too early" to talk about Russian military bases in Khmeimim and Tartus, adding that Russia was prepared to have a "serious conversation" will "all those who will be vested with power".

Russia has been a staunch ally of al-Assad's regime, supporting the leader during the country's 13-year-long civil war with military aid.

Elsewhere, in Moscow, the three-stared flag of the opposition to Assad could be seen hanging from the Syrian embassy — a symbolic move by members of the Syrian diaspora.

UK minister Pat McFadden has said the status of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in the UK as a terror group "has got to be considered".

HTS is an Islamist militant group that has spearheaded the offensive that toppled al-Assad's regime over the weekend.

They have their origins in al-Qaida and are considered a terrorist organisation by the UK, the US and the United Nations. In recent years, they have sought to cut ties with al-Qaida and focused on promoting civilian government.

McFadden, who is responsible for the UK's national security, said HTS' leader al-Jolani has "distanced himself in a way from the things that have been said in the past” adding that the UK will look into the leader's behaviour and comments in the "days to come".

Asked during an interview with the BBC on which factors would drive the decision to change HTS’s status, McFadden said it would depend on, "whether statements about the protection of minorities and citizens are backed up".

Syria's civil defence group, the White Helmets, said they were investigating reports of detainees held in underground cells in one of the prisons flung open by rebels over the weekend.

"The White Helmets has deployed 5 specialized emergency teams to Sednaya Prison to investigate hidden underground cells, reportedly holding detainees according to survivors" the group said.

Saydnaya prison has become notorious as an example of human rights abuses under the al-Assad regime.

In 2017, Amnesty International described it as a "human slaughterhouse" over reports that the leader's government had directly authorised executions of inmates. Al-Assad's government dismissed the claims.

The Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) announced an "end of the era of tyranny in the prison of Saydnaya", as they stormed through Damascus amid reports al-Assad fled the country.

In a 2022 report ADMSP estimated around 30,000 detainees were executed or died as a result ot torture and unliveable conditions between 2011 and 2018.

Israel's foreign minister, Gideon Saar, described his country's strikes on Syria as a "limited, temporary" step aimed only at “strategic weapons systems” in a press briefing.

Saar said that Israel's only interest was the "security of its citzens" and that it was attacking weapons systems in the country so they would "not fall in the hands of extremists".

Israel unilaterally annexed Golan Heights from Syria in 1981. Today, Israeli military issued photographs of its troops operating in the region of Mount Hermon, further inside Syria.

 Jean-Noël Barrot, who is France's foreign minister as the country gathers a new government, has said that the fall of al-Assad is an "obvious failure" for Moscow.

"After having supported this regime in the oppression it has carried out against its own people, Russia could lose its rear base in the Mediterranean," the minister predicted.

"The regime of Bashar al-Assad was counting on Russia's protection to ensure its survival, it could not benefit from it, the regime has fallen. This is an obvious failure for Moscow".

Elsewhere, Barrot confirmed France would be sending a diplomatic envoy to Damascus and said the country would support an "inclusive" political transition in Syria.

Israeli media reports say defence minister Israel Katz has ordered strikes on targets in Syria including “surface-to-air missiles, air defence systems, surface-to-surface missiles, cruise missiles, long-range rockets, and coast-to-sea missiles”.

Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister called the toppling of al-Assad a "historic day" for Syria, saying it offered the region an "great opportunity" that was "fraught with significant dangers".

Israel is currently in a ceasefire agreement with Iran-backed Hezbollah, who have been critical in propping up al-Assad's regime.

Experts have speculated that Hezbollah's fighting with Israel has drained the group's resources and distracted it from Syria, leaving rebels with an opportunity to overthrow al-Assad.

Syria's civil war sent millions of asylum seekers to Europe, and their diaspora took to the streets of cities across Europe over the weekend, including Athens, Paris, London, Berlin and Helsinki.

In Athens, local media reported three men entered the Syrian embassy and unfurled the Syrian opposition flag before being detained.

In Germany, which took in thousands of Syrian asylum seekers in 2015, Syrians celebrated in the capital of Berlin, chanting and holding flags reading "free Syria".

European leaders supported al-Assad's fall, and urged calm moving forward.

“The end of Assad’s dictatorship is a positive and long-awaited development,” said Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s newly appointed foreign policy chief, in a post on X.

“Our priority is to ensure security in the region. I will work with all the constructive partners, in Syria and the region.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the end of al-Assad’s rule was “good news,” adding that “what matters now is that law and order are quickly restored in Syria.”

France’s foreign ministry welcomed the fall of al-Assad, saying “the Syrian people have suffered too much.”

The situation in Syria is of high importance to a number of key players who have vested interests in the region. Here's what some of them have said so far.

Iran, the country, along with Russia, has backed the Assad regime for years. Iran's foreign ministry called for “the initiation of national dialogue involving all segments of Syrian society to establish an inclusive governance structure that represents all Syrians” in a statement.

Joe Biden, the US President was cautiously optimistic about the toppling of al-Assad, celebrating what he called a moment of "historic opportunity" but warning about a potential power vacuum in the region which he described as a moment of "risk and uncertainty".

Russia, Moscow has reportedly given al-Assad and his family asylum. Russia has called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council today to discuss next steps in the country.

Good morning, we are resuming our live blog as the international community tries to make sense of events that unfolded in Syria last week and over the weekend.

If you are just joining us now, here is a short recap of the weekend's events:

• Syrian insurgents said they have entered the capital Damascus and that President Bashar al-Assad has fled the country.
• The whereabouts of al- Assad remain unclear, with reports in Russia claiming he will seek asylum in Moscow.
• European leaders supported al-Assad's demise, viewing it as a crucial moment for the Syrian people to shape their own future.
• Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied insurgent groups claimed to have entered Saydnaya military prison north of Damascus and freed the prisoners held there.
• Meanwhile, Syrian diaspora reacted with astonishment and joy as they gathered in capitals across the world to celebrate the end of Assad's regime.

Russian state news agencies report that ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family are in Moscow and given asylum.

The Arab League on Sunday condemned Israel for taking advantage of Syrian President Bashar Assad's downfall by moving into more Syrian territory.

Hours after Assad’s overthrow, Israel announced it had seized a buffer zone in the Golan Heights that was established by a cease-fire agreement with Syria in 1974.

In a statement, the Arab League said Israel illegally sought to occupy more territories.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the 50-year-old agreement regarding Syrian territory had collapsed and that Syrian troops had abandoned their positions, necessitating Israel taking over as a “temporary defensive position.”

The Israeli military has issued a warning to residents of five villages and towns in southern Syria to stay inside their homes for their safety. “The fighting in your area is forcing the IDF to act,” the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman said on X.

The military didn’t respond to questions. Earlier, Israel said its troops had seized a buffer zone in the Golan Heights established in 1974, saying it was to protect Israeli residents after Syrian troops abandoned their positions.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said on X that the IDF has been instructed to “seize the buffer zone and control points to ensure the protection of all Israeli communities in the Golan Heights – Jewish and Druze – so that they are not exposed to threats from the other side.”

Israel captured the Golan in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed it. The international community, except for the United States, views it as occupied.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed the end of Assad’s rule as he called for peace and the protection of civilians.

“The Syrian people have suffered under Assad’s barbaric regime for too long and we welcome his departure,” Starmer said.

He said the U.K. was focused on a political solution to restore peace and stability.

“We call on all sides to protect civilians and minorities and ensure essential aid can reach the most vulnerable in the coming hours and days,” he said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross is calling for safe humanitarian access and protection of civilians in Syria after the fall of Bashir Assad’s government.

“Our teams in Syria, including in Damascus, have been closely monitoring the fast-evolving security and humanitarian situation in coordination with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent,” the ICRC’s head of delegation in Syria, Stephan Sakalian, said in a written statement on Sunday.

The ICRC is “responding wherever possible, with further efforts underway, as hundreds of thousands of people need care and humanitarian assistance,” he said.

Sakalian called “on all parties to urgently enable safe and unhindered access for medical and humanitarian workers to reach those in need, to protect civilians, and to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law.”

The leader of Syria’s biggest rebel faction in his first public appearance since the fall of Bashar Assad calls it “a victory to the Islamic nation.”

In his first public appearance since fighters entered the Damascus suburbs Saturday, Abu Mohammed al-Golani visited the Syrian capital’s sprawling Umayyad Mosque.

Now calling himself by his given name, Ahmad al-Sharaa, instead of his nom de guerre, he told hundreds of people that Assad had made Syria “a farm for Iran’s greed.”

At Lebanon’s Masnaa crossing into Syria, the mood was festive on Sunday with some local Lebanese residents handing out congratulatory sweets to Syrians lined up to return to their country.

Sami Abdel-Latif, a refugee from Hama who was heading to Syria to join his wife and four children, said while the future in Syria is still uncertain, “anything is better than Bashar.” He said he expected some chaos initially but that eventually the situation would settle down.

“Look at Aleppo now,” he said, referring to the first major city taken over by opposition forces more than a week ago, where life has continued more or less as normal. Abdel-Latif, a construction worker, said he is also hoping that there will now be plentiful work in Syria to rebuild.

Malak Matar, who was preparing to return to Damascus, said, “This is a feeling we’ve been waiting 14 years for.

“You feel yourself psychologically free - you can express yourself,” he said. “The country is free and the barriers have been broken down.”

Now, he said, “Syrians have to create a state that is well-organised and take care of their country. It’s a new phase.”

Iran, which had strongly backed President Bashar al-Assad’s deposed government, says Syrians should decide their country’s future “without destructive, coercive, foreign intervention.”

The statement from the Foreign Ministry on Sunday was the country’s first official reaction to the overthrow of Assad’s government by rebel forces, who reached the capital Damascus over the weekend.

Iran has been a staunch supporter of Assad throughout the nearly 14-year civil war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israeli forces have seized a buffer zone in the Golan Heights established by a 1974 ceasefire agreement with Syria.

He spoke on Sunday after a lightning rebel advance ended Assad’s rule.

Netanyahu said the decades-old agreement had collapsed and that Syrian troops had abandoned their positions, necessitating the Israeli takeover.

Israel captured the Golan Heights in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it. The international community, except for the United States, views it as occupied Syrian territory.

Reacting to the fall of Bashir al-Assad’s government, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Sunday that “what matters now is that law and order are quickly restored in Syria.”

“The Syrian people have experienced appalling suffering,” the chancellor said in an emailed statement. “The end of Assad’s rule over Syria is therefore good news.”

He stressed that “all religious communities, all minorities must enjoy protection now and in the future.”

“We will judge the future rulers by whether they make it possible for all Syrians to live in dignity and self-determination, defend Syria’s sovereignty against malicious interference by third parties and live in peace with their neighbours,” Scholz added.

An Associated Press journalist in Damascus reported airstrikes in the area of the Mezzeh military airport, southwest of the capital on Sunday.

The airport has previously been targeted in Israeli airstrikes, but it was not immediately clear who launched Sunday's strike.

The Israeli military refused to comment on the airport strike.

Israel often does not publicly claim responsibility for attacks in Syria.

On Saturday and Sunday, the Israeli military sent additional troops to the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights to bolster Israel’s presence along the border between Israel and Syria. Agricultural areas along the border were declared closed military zones and some schools shifted to online classes in anticipation of unrest.

China said it was closely monitoring the situation in Syria and that it hoped stability would return as soon as possible, according to a statement published Sunday on the Foreign Ministry’s website.

Beijing said it has been helping Chinese nationals who wish to leave Syria to do so in a safe manner and that it remained in contact with those still in the country.

“We urge relevant parties in Syria to ensure the safety and security of the Chinese institutions and personnel in Syria,” the statement read. “The Chinese Embassy is still up and running and carrying out its duty in Syria. We will continue to make every possible assistance to Chinese nationals in need.”

The approaching fighters are led by the most powerful insurgent group in Syria, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, along with an umbrella group of Turkish-backed Syrian militias called the Syrian National Army.

Both have been entrenched in the northwest. They launched the shock offensive on 27 November with gunmen capturing Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, and the central city of Hama, the fourth largest.

The HTS has its origins in al-Qaida and is considered a terrorist organisation by the US and the United Nations.

But the group said in recent years it cut ties with al-Qaida, and experts say HTS has sought to remake itself in recent years by focusing on promoting civilian government in their territory as well as military action.

HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani told CNN in an exclusive interview Thursday from Syria that the aim of the offensive is to overthrow Assad’s government.

The command of the Syrian armed opposition says it will impose Sunday a curfew in Damascus, starting at 4 p.m. local time till 5 a.m. on Monday.

The Military Operations Administration, which posted the decision on Telegram, did not give a reason for the curfew.

The UN envoy for Syria says the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad has created an opportunity to address the country’s deep problems and create a brighter future after years of conflict. But he says “immense” challenges remain.

Geir Pederson told reporters that the changes in Syria now raise hope for millions of refugees, internally displaced, political prisoners and families whose loved ones have disappeared.

“Today we look forward to the cautious hope for the opening of a new time for the peace, reconciliation, dignity and inclusion of all Syrians,” he said.

He said the UN was closely monitoring the situation on the ground and urging all groups to avoid violence, protect civilians and respect human rights.

“Let me stress that there must be a collective effort to secure peace and dignity for all, and that I stand ready to support the Syrian people in their journey toward a stable and inclusive future, decided and shaped by the Syrian people themselves,” Pederson said at the Doha Summit.

He said he did not know where Assad has fled to and declined to say whether the former president should be prosecuted for war crimes.

Pederson said international efforts should focus now on a stable and peaceful transition before addressing deeper questions like justice for Assad.

“First things first,” he said.

US President-elect Donald Trump posted on social media platform Truth Social Sunday, saying that Assad" has fled his country. His protector, Russia ... led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer."

He also wrote that Russia “lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead."

He added that “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.”

The French Foreign Affairs Ministry said France “welcomes” the fall of Bashar Assad’s government “after more than 13 years of violent repression against its own people.”

The ministry said in a statement: “The Syrian people have suffered too much. Bashar Assad has bled dry country, emptied of a large part of its people who, if not forced into exile, have been massacred, tortured and bombarded with chemical weapons by the regime and its allies.”

France also called for a peaceful political transition that respects the diversity of the Syrian people and protects civilians and minorities and on its international partners to help the Syrian people move towards “reconciliation and reconstruction,” saying France is ready to “play its full part” in the process.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry claimed on Sunday that Bashar al-Assad had left Syria after negotiations with rebel groups, and gave “instructions” to “transfer power peacefully.”

In a post on the Telegram messaging app on Sunday, the ministry said Moscow had not directly participated in these talks. It also said it has been following the “dramatic events” in Syria “with extreme concern."

It also said Russian troops stationed in Syria have been put on high alert and that as of early afternoon Sunday, there was “no serious threat” to the security of Russia’s military bases there.

Russia has waged a military campaign in Syria since September 2015, teaming up with Iran to allow Assad’s government to fight armed opposition groups and reclaim control over most of the country.

While Russia now concentrates the bulk of its military resources in Ukraine, it has maintained a military foothold in Syria and keeps troops at its bases there.

Italy’s Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, responded to the ongoing crisis in Syria on social media.

"I am closely monitoring the situation in Syria and remain in regular contact with our embassy in Damascus and the Prime Minister's office. I have called an emergency meeting at 10:30 AM at the Foreign Ministry." Tajani said in a post on X.

“This morning an armed group entered the garden of the Italian ambassador's residence” in Damascus, Tajani explained during a press point following the Farnesina Crisis Unit meeting on the situation in Syria.

“There was no violence towards either the ambassador or the Carabinieri. They took away three cars. The situation is completely under control,” the Italian foreign minister added.

Turkish security officials said Sunday that Turkey-backed opposition forces were close to wresting control of the city of Manbij from a US-backed and Kurdish-led force.

The opposition group, known as the Syrian National Army, SNA, was now in control of 80% of Manbij, after pushing back against the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units, the YPG, the officials said. They provided the information on condition of anonymity due to regulations.

Last week, the Turkish-backed force similarly expelled YPG fighters from the city of Tal Rifaat.

The Syrian Kurdish militia group is a key US ally in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria. Turkey however, considers the YPG to be a terrorist organization due to its link to the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has led a decades-long insurgency in Turkey.

Syria’s al-Watan newspaper, historically pro-government, wrote: “We are facing a new page for Syria. We thank God for not shedding more blood. We believe and trust that Syria will be for all Syrians.”

It added that media workers should not be blamed for publishing government statements in the past.

“We only carried out the instructions and published the news they sent us,” it said. “It quickly became clear now that it was false.”

A statement from the Alawite sect — to which Assad belongs and which has formed the core of his base — called on the youth to be “calm, rational and prudent and not to be dragged into what tears apart the unity of our country.”

“We were and still are advocates of peace and advocates of unity,” it said. It called for “the language of reason and dialogue to prevail over all parties in the service of Syria and its great people.”

Assad had little, if any, help from his allies. Russia has most of its forces tied up with the war in Ukraine and Lebanon-based Hezbollah, which at one point sent thousands of fighters to shore up Assad's forces, has been weakened by a yearlong conflict with Israel.

Iran has seen its proxies across the region degraded by regular Israeli airstrikes.

The Israeli military said on Sunday it also sent troops to “other places necessary for its defence,” and that the force deployment was meant to provide security for residents of the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.

It added it was “not interfering with the internal events in Syria.”

Israel captured that territory from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed it, a move not recognised by much of the international community, which views the territory as occupied.

A later ceasefire agreement created a demilitarised buffer zone between the two countries’ territories, prohibiting military presence or activity from either side in the area. United Nations peacekeepers have patrolled the area since 1974.

“This change presents an opportunity to build a new Syria based on democracy and justice that secures the rights of all Syrians,” Mazloum Abdi, the leader of the Syrian Democratic Forces, said in a written statement, praising the fall of the “authoritarian regime in Damascus.”

The Kurdish-led group has a significant presence in northeastern Syria, where they have clashed with the extremist Islamic State group and Turkish-backed militias over the years.

Syrian state media had previously denied rumours that Assad had fled the country, saying he was performing his duties in Damascus.

But Arabic media, quoting the rebels, say he boarded a plane and left Syria for an unknown destination.

Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said early Sunday he didn't know the whereabouts of Bashar Assad and his defence minister. He told the Saudi television network Al-Arabiyya that they lost communication Saturday night.

And in the early hours of Sunday, Syrian army command notified members of the military that Assad's 24-year rule had come to an end.

• Syrian insurgents say that they have entered the capital Damascus and that President Bashar al-Assad has fled the country

• Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied insurgent groups claimed to have entered Saydnaya military prison north of Damascus and freed the prisoners held there.

• Crowds gathered in Damascus on Sunday to celebrate the fall of Assad’s government with chants, prayers and the occasional gunfire

• A day before, opposition forces seized control of the central city of Homs, Syria's third largest, as government forces abandoned it.