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 "free" of long—time ruler bashar al—assad. reports say that president assad has left damascus by plane for an unknown destination. in the past few minutesm turkey's foreign minister said mr assad's probably outside syria. this comes as gunfire has been reported in the heart of the capital as rebels opposed to the rule of president assad continue their lightning offensive across the country. the rebel advance on damascus comes after they said they had "fully liberated" the city of homs. the rebel leader, abu mohammed al—jolani described the victory as a "historic moment". our correspondent ba ra ba ra 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. let's speak to fawaz gerges, international relations professor at the london school of economics... what is your reaction to what is happening in syria in particular the end the assad family rule of more than 50 years. it family rule of more than 50 ears. , . ., ., ~ family rule of more than 50 ears. , . . ., ~ ., years. it is an earthquake, a historical— years. it is an earthquake, a historical milestone - years. it is an earthquake, a historical milestone for - years. it is an earthquake, a historical milestone for the l historical milestone for the syrian people and particular. remains me of the iranian revolution in 1979, the end of one of the most brutal regimes in the middle east. the assad family has been ruling syria since 1971 and the former

president has been in power from 2000 so that the other two as syrians are rejoicing and looking forward to the future. one scene for me captures the 0ne scene for me captures the essence of syria today, when the rebels on the opposition free the prisoners from the most brutal presence in syria, a particular woman prisoners who outshot and distraught and confused because they don't believe they would be three and the prison itself was a symbol of assad's brutal rule so it is a moment of hope and rejoicing for the syrian people. how

a moment of hope and re'oicing for the syrian people._ for the syrian people. how do ou for the syrian people. how do you think _ for the syrian people. how do you think syria _ for the syrian people. how do you think syria can _ for the syrian people. how do you think syria can take - for the syrian people. how do | you think syria can take charge of that sense of hope because transitions like these are incredibly tricky following a military offensive, the overthrow of a government, how do they manage the transition. you are absolutely correct, look what happened in iran, many people do not know that the revolution in 1979 was really socially broadly based inclusive, forward—looking yet the islamists hijacked the revolution. syria can go to ways, they could really descend into social political and ethnic people and i hope not, the other way they could begin the other way they could begin the process of healing, state building, nation—building and inclusive government that integrates one of the most

diverse countries in the world, so many communities but this process will take many years. it will face many challenges because after more than 50 years you can imagine the scars the city and people feel but for the moment they feel free, it is the end of tyranny after 24 it is the end of tyranny after 2a years of assad rule so let's rejoice with the syrian people and hope for the best but surely they will face many challenges and we have to wait and see the good rhetoric is translated into policies in the next few weeks and months. there are a lot of external power was already involved, crucially turkey, russia and iran. do you think there will be supportive and trying to bring about a democratic and

peaceful syria. i bring about a democratic and peaceful syria.— peaceful syria. i think facing the syrian — peaceful syria. i think facing the syrian people _ peaceful syria. i think facing the syrian people they - peaceful syria. i think facing the syrian people they need | the syrian people they need help, people do not realise that 80% of the syrian people need humanitarian aid. the country and economy as broken as a result of sanctions and wars. 6 million refugees are outside syria, 8 million displaced people so before we talk about democracy and i would like to see democracy, we need to talk about state building, capacity, nation—building, healing and i hope regional power was not interfere in internal study politics because regional powers do not have the best interest of the syrian people. the syrian people face a very difficult challenge and that does not really capture the challenges facing them, in

terms of economy, healing, the scars they feel you have 300,000 people who have been killed from 2011, so you can imagine the challenges facing the syrian people but again i want to come back to the moment of hope, it is the end of tyranny at the beginning i hope of a new inclusive chapter. you talk about _ of a new inclusive chapter. you talk about state _ of a new inclusive chapter. you talk about state building, talk to us about the dynamics within syria at the different parties on groups that could take part in a conversation.— in a conversation. that is a rou:h in a conversation. that is a rough coalition _ in a conversation. that is a rough coalition of- in a conversation. that is a rough coalition of the - rough coalition of the opposition, the islamists in particular as the vanguard, the most powerful and organised and equipped. the willpower so you have also spelt to secular

national syrian army. and other regional and tribal groups shall first be have to cfd opposition can put its house in order, ethic and create a functioning coalition and collective decision—making is very difficult. any next few weeks and months is crucial, effie opposition can coalesce and create a diverse government otherwise syria could really descend into all—out violence. talk to us both the impact across the region crucially for iran which has backed the assad government but has seen allies weakened and the middle east. fix, weakened and the middle east. catastrophic setback for eran, a major setback for hezbollah, and for russia that saved assad

and for russia that saved assad and 2015. turkey is the main one up, they have been providing support for the opposition so israel is conflicted because they do not know what to expect in syria. america is conflicted but the reality is what happens in syria has major impact on original politics because it sits in a very important geopolitical and geographic area. . ~' geopolitical and geographic area. ., 0ur diplomatic correspondentjames landale is in bahrain. and says the gulf states are concerned about what might happen next and how it will affect the stability of the region. the gulf is watching events incredibly closely because they know the potential consequences could fall back on them as much as anybody else. they're concerned

about the risk that syria breaks up, that it does not retain its borders, that it is no longer a single, sovereign unitary state, that it breaks up into its constituent parts. that is one concern. another concern is what happens to the government of syria. does it become extreme? does it become led by a terrorist organisation that according to the delegates here are one that could threaten the rest of the region? in other words, is there a stable political transition, or does this return to the kind of blood—letting that many here in the gulf have seen from syria for many, many yea rs. so there is a lot of concern, a lot of caution. we have also heard from a very senior us diplomat here this morning, daniel shapiro from the defence department, who has made clear that us forces which are based in eastern syria will

remain there. they are there to combat isis or daesh, and have been there for many years. he did admit, he accepted that the uncertainty of what is taking place in syria meant that potentially some space could be created for isis or daesh to exploit that, to expand their operations in syria and elsewhere, but he says that the united states forces intend to remain very firmly there. so those are just two concerns, the instability of the state, what daesh might do. elsewhere people are worried about what impact it may or may not have on syrian refugees. there are many syrian refugees in many countries around the world. what do they do now? do some of them try and return home? if so, how and when? how is that going to be facilitated? so there are an awful lot of consequences of these incredibly fast events in syria that is notjust what's actually going to happen in damascus itself, but what does it mean for the wider region and the world? this whole thing has

happened so quickly, you know, without the sort of bloodshed at a scale we have seen in the past in syria, and it's leading some people here in these corridors where i am to speculate that there is a plan here, there is a proposal along which this is slowly unfolding that some countries outside of syria might have known what is going to happen in advance of this, simply because it's happening relatively smoothly so far. and that is leading people to speculate this is following a particular tramline here. if that is the case, and there is a political process about to happen, that would be a positive thing. there is absolutely no guarantee that that happens. and as we have seen frequently in countries where an old ruler is deposed, quite often the space and the vacuum is filled by disorder. syrian activist

and researcher, dr. rifaie tammas, spoke to my collegaue lucy gray, and gave this reaction i'm quite overjoyed. i can't even find the words to describe how i'm feeling. like millions of syrians. i couldn't sleep. again, like millions of syrians and non—syrians alike watching what's happening. the speed with which the regime has collapsed over the past few days has been astonishing to many of us. um, and i guess when we see the videos and the images of political prisoners who have been unjustly detained for years and now being freed, uh, videos and images of families being reunited with their loved ones, with theirfamilies. and also like the hope that there will be no more shelling, no more bombardment, no more aerial shelling, no more. the worst is behind us now, i think. i'm feeling very optimistic about. the future.

i'm hopeful that this will be the end of, uh, tyranny and the start of a new dawn. a new dawn for syria, for syrians of all ethnicities, of all religious backgrounds, what everyone would be equal. everyone would be free. we know that there will be a lot of obstacles along the way. a lot of concerns. of course, things, um, will clarify in the next few days. next few weeks or months. the signs we've been seeing on the ground have been really promising. the treatment of those who surrendered, the treatment of religious minorities, the treatment of, uh, of everyone. and, if we if we look at even this, the way that a lot of locals have even pushed from the south without even, like, you know, the offensive started from the north, but the fact that it's even, you know, it was corresponded and supplemented by forces from, southern syria. it just tells you that this was an empty like the regime

was an empty shell. it was hollowed out. and just ordinary people joining the rebels as well. this isn'tjust trained fighters, is it, that have been involved in this? absolutely, absolutely. and this really shows you the level of support, or the lack thereof, of the assad regime in the streets. like it's fairly nothing like the fact that um, towns after town, including people with a large number of minorities have been welcoming and facilitating the, capture or the liberation, i should say, of these towns and cities really tells you where syrians true loyalties lie. whether all of us want to be free, all of us want to put this chapter, this very dark chapter behind us. also, i suppose looking to the future, just the near term and the long term, it's very important that it gets it right that syria gets this right, isn't it? and there are concerns, aren't they, about this

rebel group, hts, the leader in particular, his links to al qaeda previously. rebel group, hts, the leader in particular, his links to al qaeda previously. there is there is a lot of concern that that one authoritarian regime is replaced by another, isn't there? talk us through how people in syria feel about hts, this rebel group. absolutely, absolutely. so i'm speaking to you from sydney. so obviously, um, a lot of my reports and a lot of i need to acknowledge my bias. so i my background is as a syrian activist, i'm from qusayr. i spoke to the bbc while i was reporting on the humanitarian situation back in 2013, 2012, i believe. and i was forcibly exiled since then. and i lived in turkey and now for almost ten years in australia. so a lot of my i need to acknowledge that, like everything i'm sharing today is obviously influenced by these experiences. well, and also tell us about your family because you lost your father and your brother, didn't you? indeed, indeed. so my father. and this is what i mean, i think links to your point,

the question how people are feeling about this, this rapid changes inside syria. so back when, when mosul was taken, had fallen into the hands of the regime, and we were leaving, my brother was killed by the assad regime. was killed as he was just right behind me, right next to me. so i saw him, you know, falling dead. my father also died a week before. and my uncle, the same was while transporting the injured. so this is the kind of when, when people are reacting and they seeing the change, the huge changes and the difference between how these rebel groups, not only hts but also others, how they reacting, how they treating people who are different from them, different religiously different political views. they are hopeful. they are optimistic. there are concerns i acknowledge, given the history of hts and the role they are playing in this, given the violations that they've committed in the past. however, people are also thinking and also hoping that this, that they also they,

they will stick to their promises and they will, you know, change their ways sort of trying to rebrand themselves, haven't they? they've been trying to reach out to minorities and saying, we're going to treat you well. and, you know, they've tried to sort of convince the west and people in syria, haven't they, that they are a force for good. absolutely. they've done, they've done really they went to extreme lengths to do this and especially in this operation. so town after town. so i have some relatives in salamiyah, which is, which has a large number of religious minority inside it. and when i spoke to my relatives, they assured me that right after the army and the security forces left, the rebels communicated with the civilian authorities inside. they told them, we don't want to harm anyone. everyone stick to their homes. we don't want we don't want to do any harm to you. and the same scenario was repeated in town after town and the low level of violence and resistance, like i said, really tells you that people

are kind of feeling a lot more optimistic, are feeling. yes, there are concerns. like i said, we are aware of the challenges. syrians are aware, but the fact that we've overthrown this regime after 1a years, after how many years has it been? um, yeah. 13 years. and it means that that would never... that they would never... we will never give up ever again. so even if there was another regime come that that's oppressive, worse or better, syrians are not going to give up. they're not going to give in. they're going to keep resisting. i think part of your, um, your political science background, you look at un mediation processes in syria. what would you like the international community to do right now? because you do get a sense that the us is not particularly keen to get involved in this. we've had a statement from the white house today saying they're monitoring events, you know, these extraordinary events. but we get the sense from donald trump, don't we? he doesn't want to get involved in wars in the middle east.

and there does seem a reluctance, doesn't there? what would you like to see? i think a peaceful transfer of power is really key. um, making sure that the government that will be elected transitional government and the later government of syria would represent truly represent the various components of the syrian society with all their diversity. that's really key. and i think there is a role for international actors to make sure that that actually happens to facilitate these talks, genuine talks, to ensure that people of all backgrounds are reflected in this, in this new government, this transitional government. i don't think the answer lies in ensuring foreign backers get their ally on the table. i think we really need to be very careful and aware that we don't want to repeat the past mistakes and really work with syrians to reflect their aspirations, their concerns, and their hopes for the future.

and just very briefly, do you think you'll be able to return to syria? i'm really hopeful. i think yes, the answer is a big yes. i would just like i've been i've been forcibly exiled for over a decade, 11.5 years since 2013. and and the thought, the thought that i can finally go back home, visit the grave of my father and my brother and my uncle and my loved ones and my friends. you reunite with friends i haven't seen for over a decade, be able to see my hometown, be able to to play my role in rebuilding syria. hopefully, is incredible because that was that was not possible before. i haven't, you know, as an activist, as a researcher who's, you know, worked on syria, that's um, i was blacklisted, obviously. so now with the downfall of the regime, that's becoming a reality not only for me, but again, for millions of syrians who will be reunited with their loved ones, will be able to go back home to their to their lands. and that's something that,

you know, you cannot you cannot really put a price on. and i think that's really, that's why a lot of people are very optimistic, very hopeful, rather than are concerned about, you know, other things, other concerns and other, you know, of course they are. but like the the primary emotions for many syrians is pure joy. danny makki is an analyst covering the internal dynamics of the conflict in syria, he specialises in syria s relations with russia and iran. he described what it is like in damascus now. well, it's really spectacular to be in damascus today with the events which have happened over the past 2a hours, and obviously the events which have happened in syria over the last ten days. i mean, what we saw in damascus yesterday morning was basically damascus going out to buy extra supplies and amenities and reallyjust stock up for this period, which was coming. and in the evening, what we saw was the complete opposition,

takeover of the city and the abandonment of several main military command posts by the syrian army. we've seen assad leave the country, and we've basically seen a transition of power, which hasn't happened or no one envisaged would happen for the past 15 years. i managed to get to the main square, which is literally around, let's just say 45 minutes after it was taken by the opposition. and i didn't see any real remnants of fighting or a battle. what i saw was dozens, hundreds of syrian military uniforms scattered on the floor. what i saw was opposition forces with very light arms. nothing really, you know, heavy, taking over different positions of the, of the capital. and there was a lot of celebratory gunfire. i mean, it's still going on at the moment. i mean, i'm not sure if you can hear it in the background, but it's, you know, every couple of minutes i hear i am hearing it regularly. and that's understandable

with the state of, you know, the situation in damascus. we know most of the rebels which have come into damascus are actually from damascus countryside and daraa, the southern part of syria. the northern rebels haven't actually made it to damascus, for the initial storming. and what we did manage to see was just an absolute ton of military, attire and uniforms all over the all over the floor. i mean, what we saw was the syrian army basically just surrender and leave and essentially the opposition�*s in charge. and so far, there's nothing really major to report in terms of any violations. everything's, you know, people are very happy. everyone's coming out into the streets and, uh, you know, we've been here for 15 years in damascus. a lot of people are very war weary. they're very tired. you know, they don't want to continue fighting. i mean, it's understandable why so many soldiers defected or, you know, put aside their their uniform because people

were really tired. you know, it's difficult to ask someone after such a long time to continue giving without having something in return. and at the end of the day, you know, assad just just upped and left. he just left the country. so the morale of the army was at an all time low. and what we saw in damascus was, was essentially an abandonment of the country, partially by agreement and partially byjust soldiers defecting, you know, en masse. i mean, i'm talking about hundreds of soldiers just just leaving their positions, taking off their military clothes and just going back into civilian clothes. and we haven't really seen any bloodshed or violence so far. and long may that continue. now it's time for a look at the weather with elizabeth rizzini. 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. 0vernight 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. live from london.

this is bbc news. 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.

hello.