live from washington, this is bbc news. syrian rebels are reportedly approaching the capital, damascus, as president bashar al—assad's office denies reports he has fled the country. storm darragh rages across the uk, leaving two people dead and hundreds of thousands of people without power. south korea's president avoids impeachment over his brief declaration of martial law, but questions remain about his future. and paris's notre dame cathedral is reborn, with donald trump and volodymyr zelensky among world leaders marking the moment. hello, i'm helena humphrey. the syrian army says it is boosting the deployment of forces around damascus as rebel fighters continue towards the capital. the government of president

bashar al—assad says reports the army had withdrawn from areas around the city are untrue. opposition forces are rapidly moving south towards damascus from aleppo and from the key strategic crossroads of homs, which appears to have fallen to opposition forces in the past few hours. other rebel factions are converging on the capital from the south, where they've taken the province of daraa. there are signs that the goverment�*s control over damascus is slipping. this footage from the suburbs shows protesters toppling a statue of assad's late father, who founded the ruling dynasty. our security correspondent frank gardner has the latest. they think they've won already. these are syrian rebels in the south of the country, in daraa, part of a pincer movement that is closing in on the capital, damascus. more celebrations today in the north, in the city of hama. the rebels�* advance across the country has been lightning—fast.

and outside the strategically vital city of homs, islamist—led rebels are streaming towards the city centre, reportedly freeing hundreds from the prison there. of syria's president, bashar al—assad, there is little sign. this does now feel like the dying days of the al—assad regime. a family dynasty that has held syria within its brutal grasp for more than half a century. but where is the syrian army in all of this? because they mostly seem to be surrendering or defecting. but tonight syrian state television did put out a video with the impression that the al—assad regime is still very much in charge. the reality is syria's army is weak, without enough support from russia, iran and hezbollah, it has been unable to hold back the rebels. we do have some pictures of the syrian army. here they are today crossing the border into iraq, to get away from the fighting.

assad had really been absent, and this tells you a great deal about psychological warfare. it seems to me that the opposition has already won, because they have really won the psychological warfare against the regime itself, and the syrian army does not really seem to be standing up. bashar al—assad was last seen on sunday, meeting his backers from iran. but that country has been weakened by conflict with israel and can no longer give him the support he needs. the assad regime has murdered, gassed and tortured thousands of its own people. but a big question now hangs over what comes next. as his rule crumbles around him, many fear what could follow for syria. frank gardner, bbc news. as bashar al—assad's fate hangs in the balance, the un's envoy for syria has told the bbc a negotiated solution is still possible and that a deal is necessary

to avoid bloodshed and chaos. geir pedersen was speaking in qatar's capital, doha, where diplomats are holding emergency talks. key regional players including saudi arabia, egypt, turkey, jordan, iran and iraq were in attendance, along with russia's foreign minister, sergei lavrov. joining me live to talk about all of this is rim turkmani, syria research director at the conflict and civicness research group at the london school of economics. thank you very much for being with us at this late hour. us officials have been briefing that semesters could fall. they have been saying that syria could be approaching the end of the assad dynasty. what do you make of what we're seeing? i5 make of what we're seeing? i3 falling as we are speaking. by the time you finished the report that you just played, things have changed on the ground already. the rebel forces have ta ken ground already. the rebel forces have taken the city of homs, a strategic location, and they are advancing within damascus. the presidential

guards right now, as we are speaking, have been evacuated from around the presidential palace. there are tanks now going around the square which is a very strategic square in damascus leading to the presidential palace. it's happening right now. there is no more room for negotiation, sadly, because negotiations would have prevented potential casualties that may arise. the assad regime lost every opportunity, so even the comments of the special envoy are already out of date, the comments about the potential or possible negotiations with assad. �* ., , assad. and we have seen, already. — assad. and we have seen, already, seems _ assad. and we have seen, already, seems today, - assad. and we have seen, already, seems today, as| assad. and we have seen, i already, seems today, as you will have as well, of jubilation in some places. i just wonder, describing those scenes that you just were there, damascus, for example, with tanks heading towards the presidential palace, what is the sense for syrian civilians

here? is there also a sense of trepidation about what the coming hours and days could look like, and also what life potentially could look like under hgs? i potentially could look like under hgs?— potentially could look like under hgs? . , under hgs? i mean, the feelings are different _ under hgs? i mean, the feelings are different depending - under hgs? i mean, the feelings are different depending on - under hgs? i mean, the feelings are different depending on the i are different depending on the city. in homs right now, they are rejoicing. everyone is on the street. i come from homs. people are celebrating. people over the moon. theyjust cannot believe their eyes. they cannot believe their eyes. they cannot believe that finally, finally, 53 years after the assad regime has fallen on their cities like a black cloud, it's over. i still cannot believe it. i am speaking to everyone. we're just in complete disbelief. in damascus, however, everyone is very nervous. for what is going to happen. this is part of the power. this is a very diverse city. there are strong diehard supporters of the regime. many of them are fleeing, which is good. then fleeing is better than having a conflict inside the city, but they don't know what is going to happen. they don't think the city can survive a week without

supplies. already food supplies are short. people are short of cash. so they are very nervous. it is not clear what is going to happen. but one thing that they don't think that sgs is going to rule the country. it doesn't have the legitimacy as a terrorist organisation. we managed to pull out the major coalition advances across the country, but all these forces, especially the ones which are coming from different sides to damascus, or the ones that descended on homs, they are not sgs forces. people have been kicked out of those cities who have been living in camps or really all around the regional countries or in the north of the country, and they have seen their brothers, theirfamilies, their brothers, their families, being their brothers, theirfamilies, being killed. they have lost all their assets. they are coming back, because no—one found a solution for them. especially not sgs. i despise sgs. it should have no place in the future of syria. but these

are syrians, and we should work together now and find a solution that encompasses everyone. solution that encompasses everyone-— solution that encompasses eve one. . ~ ., everyone. talking about that, how easy _ everyone. talking about that, how easy not _ everyone. talking about that, how easy not do _ everyone. talking about that, how easy not do you - everyone. talking about that, how easy not do you think - everyone. talking about that, how easy not do you think it | how easy not do you think it would be to find that political solution, and if you've got different factions in different groups, hds involved to a certain extent but also other syrian groups and so on? i think it's going to be difficult, but i am absolutely amazed by what's happening on the ground in syria, with syrian society coming to the fore, working together in the background with all the social capital is, all the connections, to prepare the ground to prevent budget. we were so concerned about the rebels going through the city of homs, because it has a big alawite community, a christian community, very diverse city. but before went in, intensity medications were happening between different factions, different groups, religious figures, from christians and muslims— all the communities congregating together, making

open statements, giving reassuring messages. they found everything down and defuse the tension, and these other people that we need to involve. it's not necessarily sgs. sgs may have a share somewhere, but let's remember who saved syria. it's the syrian society, and the fact that the regime not only lost the support of its allies, it lost the support of its own people, of its own supporters. this is the most important pillar that eroded in the last few years. it's not just iran, which is of course the weakening of iran and hezbollah led to that fall, but it's also the operation of the loyalists of that regime, who are so tired, exhausted. they just give their children to him, fought for him, and what did they get out of it? nothing, only the i%, the crony capitalists, got all the shares, and they were excluded. that's why they were so tired. and they didn't fight for him. theyjust

and they didn't fight for him. they just left and they didn't fight for him. theyjust left their positions. i have read the writing online because of your position you have not been able to return to syria. were we to see the assad regime fall, would you then be able to return? do you have hope that now, watching what we are seeing unfolding? absolutely, for the first time, i hope i will be able to make it back to my country, ten years, no, 14 years. last time i was in syria was in 2010, shortly after the uprising started and i openly declared my opposition on the side of the syrian people, and since then i was not allowed in the country. i was put on one of those lists of people who are wanted for arrest. and now i feel like, yes, i can actually go back, i can take my kids back and show them their country. they grew up out of syria. i have talked to them about it, but they don't know

it. and i am still in disbelief that this is happening and they are going to know what syria is and they are going to relate to it. and i'm going to go and visit my mother's grave. i am going to see my childhood house. i am going to see my aunts. i can't believe it. this is history unfolding in front of us, and just incredible. please don't give it to sgs. please, please don'tjust focus on sgs. they are a terrorist organisation despised by all syrians. focus on us, on our joy, syrians. focus on us, on our joy, on our hopes. 0n syrians. focus on us, on our joy, on our hopes. on all the civil society that saved the country. this is where your attention should be. and the ongoing whitewash for the leader should stop. he is directly implicated in the 9/11 attack. he did not spend one day in al-qaeda, he was in al-qaeda for years and years.

he was a leading figure in al-qaeda, and you don't change that skin. i al-qaeda, and you don't change that skin. ., ., ., that skin. i want to ask you more about _ that skin. i want to ask you more about that. _ that skin. i want to ask you more about that. what - that skin. i want to ask you more about that. what are | that skin. i want to ask you - more about that. what are your concerns, then, were he then to essentially try to come to power? essentially try to come to ower? ~ , essentially try to come to ower? y u, . essentially try to come to ower? ~y . , essentially try to come to ower? g . , ., power? my concern is that the international _ power? my concern is that the international community, - international community, because they see jolani playing a leading role in putting together this military coalition, this isjust a temporary role, it is just a co—ordination mechanism, nothing more than that. it is the co—ordination room, and that co—ordination has been successful. jolani put it together, yes, thank you very much, but that's it. i don't want to see the international community giving him a whitewash, forgiving all his crimes. just today, as are speaking, there were women demonstrating outside his own prisons in the lab calling for the release of hundreds of men who he arrested, just because they opposed him —— idlib. and

what did they do? they threw stones at him. and the children were covered in blood because they were throwing stones at him. he is pretending he is releasing prisoners from assad's prisons, but he has so many innocent people in his presence. my friends died in his presence. he is a criminal, he is a terrorist. he should have no place in the future of syria. he is not different to assad. ,, ., , ., . . ., assad. senior research director at the conflict _ assad. senior research director at the conflict and _ assad. senior research director at the conflict and civicness - at the conflict and civicness research group at the london school of economics, thank you for speaking to us this evening. for speaking to us this evening-— for speaking to us this evenina. ., ~ ,, , for speaking to us this evenina. . ~ ,, , . before we be