syrian rebels declare damascus is free after reports that president assad has fled the country. the bbc�*s barbara plett usher is in damascus just coming into the city now past quite a major army base. and outside of it we saw men coming out and they are walking down the road without uniform. syria's prime minister says he will �*cooperate�*with the rebels over a transition of power and that free elections should be held. rebels appear on state tv saying they have toppled a tyrant and have released his prisoners. these are live pictures of the syria lebanon border as thousands try to return to their homes in syria. in damascus, the statue of bashar al assad's father hafez is toppled and attacked. president biden

says he is monitoring the �*extraordinary events�* in syria. rebel forces in damascus have rebel forces in damascus have declared the capital city declared the capital city "free" of long—time ruler "free" of long—time ruler bashar al—assad. reports say that president bashar al—assad. reports say that president assad has left damascus assad has left damascus by plane for an unknown by plane for an unknown destination. of damascus has been destination. more than five decades of authoritarian rule more than five decades of authoritarian rule by the assad family have come by the assad family have come to an end in syria, to an end in syria, after rebels took the capital, damascus, overnight.

(upsot oov 2 ")�*the city (upsot oov 2 ")�*the city of damascus has been liberated...assad has been toppled' say the islamist rebels, taking over state tv. (00v)the group, who have their roots in al-qaeda, have been trying to rebrand themselves as a nationalist force. they say they've freed what they called unjustly detained prisoners and hundreds of detainees held in prisons syria's president bashar al—assad is reported to have fled by plane for an unknown destination. russia, iran and hezbollah, who'd kept the assad regime in power through years of civil war, appear unable to sustain him. many of the hundreds of thousands of refugees who fled syria for lebanon during the long— running civil war are now attempting to return. crowds have been gathering at border crossings. analysts say the country is now at a crossroads over whether rebel leader, abu mohammad al—jolani, will opt for a path to democracy. our correspondent barabara plett—usher has managed to reach the centre of damascus and sent this report damascus is relatively calm. when we passed through the central square we saw lots of young men shooting guns in the air, rebels and their supporters celebrating their victory of entering damascus. as we came into the city, we

saw military equipment beside the road abandoned, tanks, military vehicles, even uniforms as soldiers took off their uniforms and joined the population. here in this city you can see there are vehicles on the streets, there is traffic. the shops are closed. not that many people, so some people are quite afraid, those who supported the regime had felt protected by it. they are basically staying at home right now. others of course joyful that the regime has fallen, seeing this as a new chapter in syria's history. what that chapter is is the next question. the prime minister has put out a statement saying that he wants to work for the continuity of government, for the handover of power in a peaceful way for elections. the leader of the rebels has said that his forces should not target public institutions, those are still under the authority of the prime minister until they can be handed over officially so both of them sending out messages of reassurance, calm rather than chaos but things are uncertain and everyone is waiting to see

what will happen next. barbara plett usher _ what will happen next. barbara plett usher reporting _ what will happen next. barbara plett usher reporting from - plett usher reporting from damascus there. with the flag of the syrian opposition displayed on his desk, this is how a news anchor on syrian tv, reacted after rebels declared they had taken damascus. translation: in the name of allah, the most gracious, the most merciful. the proud people of our nation, the time has come and the sun of freedom has risen. the time has come to lift the oppression and dispel the darkness overshadowing our beloved country. we are the rightful owners and this land belongs to us. we, the syrian people of all sects, colours

we, the syrian people foreign interests in what is happening in syria, but this really is a syrian story, after more than a decade and a half of suffering. more than a decade and a half of suffering-— of suffering. yes. it is a seismic _ of suffering. yes. it is a seismic moment - of suffering. yes. it is a seismic moment in - of suffering. yes. it is a seismic moment in the | of suffering. yes. it is a - seismic moment in the region. don't forget bashar al—assad was preceded by his father. his family have had syria as their private business. in fact, a former british ambassador said to me the best way to understand the assad regime was to watch a mafia movie like the godfather, or the tv show the sopranos, in terms of how they operated. but writ large in a country. and they have gone. and now because syria is in such a major strategic place in the heart of the region what happens in syria affects all of its neighbours and by extension the wider world. and so the question now is whether these rebels who are taking over can bejudicious, can they rebels who are taking over can be judicious, can they try and

promote stability, can, as they have said, they have said there should be no revenge against minority groups, but let's see what happens. what i've just described, is, if you like, is the good scenario, the bad scenario is something akin to what happened in libya after the fall of gaddafi in 2011 and saddam hussein in iraq after 2003 which was years and years of torment and bloodshed and civil war. so they have already had that in syria. maybe they have had enough and they want to move to a better place. let's hope so, first and foremost, for the sake of all syrians. foremost, for the sake of all 5 rians. ~ ., foremost, for the sake of all 5 rians. ~ . ., ., syrians. we have had a statement _ syrians. we have had a statement in _ syrians. we have had a statement in from - syrians. we have had a statement in from the | syrians. we have had a - statement in from the turkish foreign minister saying turkey is calling on all actors to act with prudence, everyone has to be watchful, there shouldn't be any revenge, and any government should be inclusive. just talk to us about the role turkey

could play in the coming days and weeks in syria.— and weeks in syria. possibly the most — and weeks in syria. possibly the most critical _ and weeks in syria. possibly the most critical role - and weeks in syria. possibly. the most critical role because turkey have been supportive, though not sort of directly directing but certainly supportive of hts, which is the rebel group which launched this offensive, a coalition of other factions as well, which has led in ten days or so to the collapse of the regime. no one expected it, i've spoken to senior diplomats involved in observing the syria file close up observing the syria file close up who have said to me throughout all this that what is happening is absolutely astonishing. no one expected them to crumple in this way, them to crumple in this way, the regime. having fought so hard with its allies, the russians and the iranians, hezbollah of lebanon. so you know, there are huge challenges ahead for the syrians who are trying to run the country. it is a country with a collapsed economy. it is a country that

has had a decade and a half of war, well over 500,000 people dead already. so the issue is, if you compare it to libya and iraq is that after years of dictatorship which, if you like, keeps the boot on the throat of a people, when that boot is lifted you don't know what's going to happen in terms of people perhaps wanting to get revenge for things they have suffered or their family have suffered or their family have suffered, people, groups wanting to take power, and so this is a really, really unstable period coming up. quite risky for all concerned, i would say. quite risky for all concerned, i would say-— quite risky for all concerned, i would say. one phrase i have heard over _ i would say. one phrase i have heard over the _ i would say. one phrase i have heard over the last _ i would say. one phrase i have heard over the last few - i would say. one phrase i have heard over the last few hours | heard over the last few hours is what happens in the syria does not stay in syria. what are the concerns for countries in the region but also the conflicts we are seeing in lebanon and gaza is wealth? let's start with iran. this is a terrible blow for iran. syria

was an important ally, it was a client effectively, the assad regime, of iran. and iran's defensive strategy, or offensive depending on which way you look at it, in the last, well, the whole of this century, the last 20 years or so, is to build this so—called axis of resistance which was an axis involving clients and allies like hezbollah in lebanon and various proxies as well, and that already had been taking a really serious battering because of what israel have been doing in lebanon and also towards iran and the heartfelt support of the americans and now i think they've lost their important ally so for iran this is a disaster, they will have to rethink their approach to their position in the middle east. i don't think the israelis will be happy about what has been going on, having potentially an

islamist state on its doorstep. they have moved forces up to the occupied territory, the golan heights. i think that for the wider region and if you think about how the turks occupied northern syria, the americans are up there, too, the russians have a base on the mediterranean in tartous, so what happens to all of that? these are all people who will be players in what happens next. some of the most influential ones are likely to be the arab gulf states, apart from, if you look at the united arab emirates, powerful, rich, militarily capable. but along with egypt and jordan they have already said that they didn't like what is happening in terms of the dangers in the offensive and the reignited civil war,

and the reignited civil war, and now that is something which they are faced with almost a blank canvas in terms of what happens next. blank canvas in terms of what happens next-— happens next. and jeremy, a auestion happens next. and jeremy, a question about _ happens next. and jeremy, a question about russia - happens next. and jeremy, a question about russia as - happens next. and jeremy, a| question about russia as well which of course back to the assad regime. we saw the intense bombardment that happened in cities like aleppo. russia of course continuing its conflict in ukraine which you have covered as well. what do the events in syria tell us about russia and why this has unfolded? , , ., about russia and why this has unfolded?— about russia and why this has unfolded? , , ., ., unfolded? russia did not defend the regime. _ unfolded? russia did not defend the regime, they _ unfolded? russia did not defend the regime, they did _ unfolded? russia did not defend the regime, they did some - unfolded? russia did not defend the regime, they did some air i the regime, they did some air strikes but that was about it. they must have decided that the game was up. there is also a limit to what they could do easily because they have transferred a lot of their hardware and their air force fighters and soldiers to fight with ukraine war. for russia, the naval base in tartus on the mediterranean is strategically

very important because any pretensions they have two being a regional power in the middle east, they have a very long relationship with syria going back to the 19505, i think, soviet days, it depends on the football they have in tartu5. will they be able to do that? will they be able to do that? will there be a deal? at the moment it is probably the case that the regime is controlling tartu5. becau5e president assad comes from a minority group called the alawite5. their heartland i5 called the alawite5. their heartland is on the mediterranean coa5t heartland is on the mediterranean coast and in the mountains overlooking that and tartus i5 mountains overlooking that and tartus is part of that area. i've certainly seen video this of people on the streets of another main town on the coast in the region demonstrating against the regime, including

people from his own alawite community in latakia. there is massive confusion about what is ma55ive confusion about what is going on there right now at the moment. , , ., moment. jeremy, our international - moment. jeremy, our international edited i international edited jeremy bowen, thank you. we haveju5t had a line coming in from the turkish foreign minister saying that bashar al—a55ad i5 that bashar al—a55ad is probably outside of syria. thi5 probably outside of syria. this comes with continued report5 he had fled the country to an unknown destination. caroline hawley look5 unknown destination. caroline hawley looks back on his rule. bashar al—a55ad took power in the year 2000, inheriting syria's police state from his father, hafez. the new young president, ju5t 3a at the time, promised reform. and after his inauguration, there was a brief period of greater political openne55. but the old family way of ruling soon reasserted itself. power was to have been handed down to ba5har�*s elder brother,

basel, but when he was killed in a car crash, it was the quieter, somewhat awkward bashar who was next in line. he'd been training as an eye doctor in london when he was called back to syria to prepare for taking over the presidency. with his british—born wife, a5ma, by his side, president assad at first presented a new image of syria to the world. mrs al—a55ad, your majesty. the west responded. there was even an audience with the queen. but the change that so many syrian5 hoped for at home failed to materialise. and when an uprising against him began in 2011, he responded with tanks in the streets. a5 accounts of atrocities multiplied, bashar al—a55ad denied they were taking place, refusing to take responsibility. we don't kill our people. no government in the world kill its people unless it's led by a crazy person.

for me as president, i became president because of the public support. it's impossible for anyone in this state to give order to kill. whoever it was that gave the actual order5, bashar al—a55ad headed a regime that killed too many of its own people to even count with barrel bombs as well a5 bullets, and also with chemical weapons that are internationally banned. this was the aftermath of an attack with 5arin gas on an opposition—held suburb of the capital in 2013. hundreds of people were killed. the west repeatedly said that bashar al—a55ad must go. but however 5ickening the violence, there was no stomach to really take on his regime. he repeatedly said he was merely fighting terrorists. when you shoot, you aim, and when you shoot, when you aim, you aim at terrorists in order to protect civilian5.

again, if you talk about casualty, that's war. you cannot have war without ca5ualty. there were more chemical attacks and many, many more ca5ualtie5. but back in 2015, russia had stepped in to turn the tide of the war in bashar al—a55ad'5 favour. it was russian air5trike5 and support from iran and hezbollah that helped defeat the rebels in aleppo and elsewhere, and led to this moment in 2023, to this moment in 2023. after years of isolation, president assad at an arab league summit, his regional rehabilitation a symbol of his victory at the time. as he was in saudi arabia, the rebels were confined to the northwest of syria. but then came this major offensive by the rebels, who headed first for aleppo, syria's second city, a huge prize that they took over with ease. they went on to capture more and more territory from the assad regime, weakened because the support it had been able to rely on was no longer there. now he's gone, leaving a country deeply scarred

by his brutal rule. caroline hawley, bbc news. we are keeping an eye on what is happening in syria. israel is happening in syria. israel is keeping an eye on what is happening in syria. we can speak to our correspondentjon donni5on injerusalem. how is israel reacting to developments in syria? there is a lot of concern _ developments in syria? there is a lot of concern here. _ developments in syria? there is a lot of concern here. israel- a lot of concern here. israel has already sent reinforcements to the occupied golan heights which has a border with syria. we understand that israeli forces have pushed into the buffer zone already which is on the other side of the golan heights and they have been carrying out 5trike5 heights and they have been carrying out strikes in the last 2a hours against some of la5t 2a hours against some of those rebel groups who they tho5e rebel groups who they said to have advanced towards that buffer zone and their message is basically back off. there is real concern because of course it shares a border

with syria and those images we saw earlier in the programme 5aw earlier in the programme from damascu5 5aw earlier in the programme from damascus very 5aw earlier in the programme from damascu5 very reminiscent to me to the scenes we saw in libya back in 2011, 2012. i was based on the region at that time and i spent quite a bit of time and i spent quite a bit of time in libya. and then we have those scenes of celebration tho5e scenes of celebration initially, people firing gun5 initially, people firing guns initially, people firing guns in the air, and a couple of months of a sort of honeymoon period before it all unravelled and we have had really more than a decade of instability in libya. in libya israel wasn't too bothered because it was further away but they are much more concerned about what is happening in syria. syria has chemical weapons, happening in syria. syria has chemicalweapon5, it happening in syria. syria has chemical weapons, it is used then, there is worry about those getting into the hands of tho5e getting into the hands of the rebels, some of whom are affiliated with al-qaeda. syria has a large military, lots of weapons stockpiles, it has an air force, weapons stockpiles, it has an airforce, fighterjets, so air force, fighter jets, so israel airforce, fighterjets, so israelis really, airforce, fighterjets, so israel is really, really concerned.—

israel is really, really concerned. , . . concerned. israel is concerned and this also _ concerned. israel is concerned and this also changes - concerned. israel is concerned and this also changes a - concerned. israel is concerned and this also changes a lot - concerned. israel is concerned and this also changes a lot ofl and this also changes a lot of the dynamics that we are seeing in the region when it comes to iran, to lebanon. how do you think israel might try to navigate what is going to happen next? i navigate what is going to happen next?— navigate what is going to happen next? navigate what is going to hauen next? ., �* ~ ., happen next? i don't know the answer. the _ happen next? i don't know the answer. the truth _ happen next? i don't know the answer. the truth is _ happen next? i don't know the answer. the truth is that - happen next? i don't know the answer. the truth is that when the arab uprising happened in syria in 2011, israel basically found itself, even though it is no friend of bashar al—a55ad, with what it wanted which were stability, it wanted the status quo, 5o stability, it wanted the status quo, so it really wanted bashar al—a55ad to remain in power. it certainly didn't intervene on behalf of the rebels. and that happened even though bashar al—a55ad wa5 happened even though bashar al—a55ad was backed by hezbollah in lebanon, they sent over well—trained fighter5 hezbollah in lebanon, they sent over well—trained fighters to fight against the rebels. bashar al—a55ad backed of course by iran. and we have

seenin course by iran. and we have seen in the past year hezbollah and iran are two of israel because my greatest enemie5. so now israel is going to have to work out what it wants to happen in syria and i don't know the answer to that. thank ou ve know the answer to that. thank you very much. _ know the answer to that. thank you very much, jon _ know the answer to that. thank you very much, jon donnison. l know the answer to that. thank | you very much, jon donnison. it you very much, jon donni5on. it shows how complex what is happening right now. thanks to our correspondentjon donni5on injerusalem. oursecurity correspondent frank gardner has been watching the situation closely and gave me his analysis. i think the important stuff has happened on the ground, not at doha where these foreign ministers are meeting because turkey, the foreign ministers of turkey, iran and russia were the key players in this but really the situation in the last21i hours has moved so rapidly as the rebels advance both from deraa in the south and from hom5 in the north to close in on the capital, and it is clear the syrian army

had no stomach for this fight, they defected, they surrendered, they retreated, tore off their uniforms, put down their guns and disguised themselves as civilian5, this regime has crumbled very quickly indeed. tho5e foreign ministers i mentioned were part of something known as the a5tana process, as in the meetings that people held in central asia to try and thrash out a political future for syria. bashar al—a55ad was not interested in talking about any transition of power whatsoever and he has now paid the price. the early signs are quite encouraging that there could be an orderly transition of power. why? because the leader of the main rebel group hts, hay�*at tahrir al—sham, this is somebody called abu mohammed al—jolani, he has said that we are going to respect minorities, there is not going to be a great big blood—letting

and vengeance and so on. but he is only one person at the head of a very large 5prawling coalition of rebel groups and there are some pretty hardcorejihadists in amongst them. let's not forget that hts is still a pro5cribed terrorist organisation, pro5cribed by the un and by many governments. it is going to have to prove itself in the coming days, weeks and months that it is absolutely true to its word and has left its terrorist root5 behind, because people will be thinking about what happened in afghanistan when the taliban seized the capital kabul and the whole country and the international community disappeared. taliban spokespeople were going on television saying nothing to fear, don't worry, we're going to respect women's rights, we are not like we were in the past. and they are exactly like they were in the past. it's been an absolute ba5ket case for human rights and women's rights. so there are any number of ways in which syria could now go

down a very dark path, it could go the way of libya with rival factions, armed groups descending into sort of tribal and religious friction. but so far, it is looking quite promising. and the west is largely staying out of it. it's going to be for syria's own people to sort this one out, hopefully with the backing of the united nations and hopefully without too much meddling from outside countries. what do we know about hts's capabilities to handle what is relly a tense and fluid security situation across syria? yeah, it is always very difficult where you have got rebel groups that have been in opposition for years and years and have been operating in a very small tightly controlled area. in the case of hts, they havejust been in idlib, they have been confined up to the far north—west of the country. they don't have any experience of governing non—sunni muslims

and a wider cross spectrum of people because syria is a patchwork of kurds, christians, sunni muslims, shia muslims and perhaps one of the biggest threats is friction between the alawite minority from which bashar al—assad's dynasty comes, they are shia, they are based in the north—west of the country, to the south of idlib. there could be friction between them and the sunni militants. and let's not forget... sorry, frank, ijust want to add we have some images coming in from damascus which show damage to the iranian embassy in the country. what do we know about this incident? what does it tell us about perhaps people's feelings towards iran in syria at the moment? many syrians felt that their country had become a sort of captive of iran. syria was the big arab ally of

the islamic republic of iran. it was their big base. it was from where they channelled a lot of the weapons that went through to hezbollah in lebanon. there were very close relations between bashar al—assad's regime and the rulers of the islamic republic in iran. so this is a huge blow for iran. bashar wouldn't have survived this long without the assistance he had in 2015 both from the russian air force, but on the ground from troops and advisers and military help from the iranian revolutionary guards corps. that was the bbc�*s frank gardner. in the pictures you can see on your screen are from irbil in iraq showing syrian refugees, the syrian diaspora celebrating following the fact that bashar al—assad has been deposed from power. we have much more on this for you here on bbc news.

hello there. well, it's still another very windy day by any standards, but storm darragh is now pulling off towards the south and the east. staying very blustery towards coastal areas, but it is looking calmer from the north with fewer showers. most of those are out towards the east. there will be some sunshine further north and west. do keep up to date with any further disruption from the storm on your bbc local radio station. the thing we haven't been talking about quite so much as the strength of the winds has been just how much rain has been falling. there are a number of flood warnings in force, most of those across england and wales, and still some more heavy rain for a time, for the rest of the morning, perhaps the first part of the afternoon out towards north—eastern areas of england. there is the storm. it's pulling away. high pressure building in from the west and that's going to bring more in the way of sunshine across much of scotland, the wintry showers fading away there. northern ireland, some sunny skies here, also for north—west england, eventually, down through wales and into south—west england.

staying very blustery for irish sea coasts, particularly through this morning. windy too for north sea facing coasts. the winds will gradually ease later on, but staying windy all day across the channel islands. spells of rain across eastern areas of england, central southern england. it's feeling cold, as well. there will be plenty of added wind chill, too. overnight tonight, the storm continues to fade away. the winds turn a bit more north—easterly, just blowing this cloud further westwards. there will be some showers across the south. underneath the cloud and with the breeze it will stay reasonably mild, but a frost developing with lighter winds and clear skies for scotland and northern ireland, so it's going to be a chilly start to the day here. maybe some patches of mist and fog, as well. high pressure firmly established across the north and the west as we head into monday morning. this is where we're going to be seeing the best of the sunshine. still cloudy, still rather windy across the far south and the east. some of that cloud moving further westwards at times. some showers for east anglia and for parts of kent with that

north easterly wind. it's still feeling rather chilly. in fact, temperatures across the central belt may not get much past three or four celsius on monday afternoon. high pressure stays with us as we head through into tuesday. maybe some spells of rain for a time in the north and the west with a very weak warm front, but generally dry, settled. with those lighter winds there could be some patches of mist and fog. bye—bye for now.

this is bbc news, the headlines syrian rebels declare damascus is free after reports that president assad has fled the country. the bbc�*s barbara plett usher is in damascus as we came into the city resort mother to the equipment beside the road abandoned, tanks and military vehicles and uniforms as soldiers took them off and joined the population. syria's prime minister says he will �*cooperate' with the rebels over a transition of power and that free elections should be held. rebels appear on state tv saying they have toppled a tyrant and have released his prisoners. these are live pictures of the syria lebanon border as thousands try to return to their homes in syria.

rebel forces in damascus have declared the capital city