and russians within the region but it is quite interesting that none of the russian bases have been touched upon, they are quite safe, and we have been studying satellite images that bbc russian, we have seen that russia has relocated some of its forces, some helicopters and interestingly enough, russian warships went on so "exercises", as soon as the rebels started offensive operations, so moscow seems to be aware, but seems to play an elaborate game of chess always trying to show that it does. briefly, if you would, could bashar al—assad be in russia? politically it is possible but at the moment we see no signs of that. in the past few days are proving the whole world once again that in the current situation, everything is possible.

olga ivshina from bbc russian, thank you forjoining us. the brightness, in the north and west. the rebel opposition so that they are cheap, mohammed al—jolani has arrived in damascus, according to the afp news agency. damascus, according to the afp news agency-— damascus, according to the afp newsauen . . ., ., news agency. mohammed al-jolani has presided _ news agency. mohammed al-jolani has presided over _ news agency. mohammed al-jolani has presided over a _ news agency. mohammed al-jolani has presided over a disciplined - has presided over a disciplined fighting force which has moved through syria at lightning speed to take the capital, damascus, and he has arrived there and the capital. that is just coming into us. the israeli defence minister, israeli defence minister, israel katz said the israel defense force has deployed forces in the buffer zone to ensure the security of israeli communities in the golan

heights. our correspondent in jerusalem said there had not been a huge amount of commentary from the israeli government yet, but we are hearing now from the defence minister, israel katz saying that israeli forces have been deployed to that buffer zone with syria, the golan heights, to protect israeli communities there. paul conroy, was the sunday times photographer working in syria with marie colvin — the journalist who was killed by syrian government forces while reporting in homs. paul was also seriously injured in the rocket attack in baba amr in the south—west of homs, that killed marie. hejoins us from odesa, where he continues to work as a freelance war photographer. i'm taking a share of theirjoy. this has been a long

time coming. i was there in 2012, and i never saw this coming, never saw it coming so quickly. and i think the syrians, let them have their moment, there are going to be a lot of questions that need answering by the groups taking power but for now, i am with them, i'm celebrating. never saw it coming so quickly, because the assad family had been in power 50 years, they have managed to fight off opposition before. nobody thought that necessarily, if there was going to be change that it would happen as quickly as this. no, in 2012, when the protests were happening in 2012, that is when the government turned their guns on them in homs, that is where marie and i were reporting from, they wanted to rip the beating heart out of the revolution in horns and it appeared like it succeeded and since then, other countries have been involved, russia, iran, hezbollah, and the syrian

people have been crushed down, so for it to spring back and happen so quickly is astonishing by any measure. tell us about the time that you were there with marie colvin, and what your key memories are from that period, what life was like in syria at that time. it was horrendous. just getting into homs, it took three days, travelling at night on motorbikes, dodging checkpoints. we crawled through a three mile long sewer tunnel to get into homs and inside we saw a vision of hell, barely a building had not been shelled. people in baba amr were living amongst the rubble. we would see these ghostlike faces coming out and then every day, every single day without fail, they would just shell the neighbourhood.

start at one end, work down, with wide area battlefield weapons in urban environments. the effect was deadly. this went on for 18 hours a day. this was slaughter. it wasn't war. this was just slaughter. and the aim of the regime was to crush horns, and to show the rest of syria what would happen if you rise up. and of course, they silenced the messengers, they killed marie. so that gives you a flavour of what the syrian people had been facing with the sheer brutality of the assad regime which is unparalleled. i'm sure that you would be modest about this, but it is undoubted that you and marie and your work helped to highlight the continuing atrocities carried out by the regime.

and to keep that in people's minds, both within the country, who were thinking about opposition, and how that opposition might look, and people outside the country. yes. i mean, i rememberwhen i escaped, i was quite badly injured, they said please tell our story and that is what i have been trying to do over the last 12 years. and i think that now that the regime has gone, the syrians need that opportunity. these people are not fools. they will spot, if they are trying to have something placed on them, they have just come out of 5a years of terror, and if anyone tries to impose anything draconian on the syrian people now, they will not stand for it. this is not a given that this will be

any kind ofjihad state. these people when they protested initially, they were not calling for islamist rule, they were calling for a change in the constitution, greater liberties and reform, and no way were they calling for this. so they will not have this imposed on them. anyone who tries to impose on it, to try to go too extreme with their rule, they will ber rejected in a very forcible way. these people are experienced with people trying to force something on them. paul conroy, former colleague of marie colvin there. benjamin netanyahu is describing this as an historic day in the middle east. he says that he will not allow hostile

forces to establish a presence on borders with israel. i was telling you about that comment from the israeli defence minister, saying that israeli forces have been deployed to the buffer zone with syria, the golan heights, to protect israeli communities there. that reaction just israeli communities there. that reactionjust coming in israeli communities there. that reaction just coming in from the israeli prime minister. earlier i spoke to dr haid haid, who is syrian associate fellow at chatham house and i asked him if he was surprised at the speed the assad regime collapsed. 100%, but this comes as a series of surprises which started almost ten days ago with the fall of aleppo and it became some sort of domino effect that led to the fall of damascus. however, we have to also remember that the country right now is still divided into different areas and

different groups are in charge of different territories. so, that would also sort of complicate what comes next. yes, so many questions potentially to ask about this unfolding and evolving situation. let's begin with the leader of the rebels, abu mohammed al—jolani — how much control do you think he has over the various groups in the country? is this a tight group that he leads or is it made up of many different factions? many different groups operating under that title of hts? hts is one unified group. al—jolani has full control over that group. however, if you look at fighting that is happening in syria, it started with an offensive that was led by hts and other rebel groups. you have also other sort of fighting groups

elsewhere in the country. you have the syrian national army, which is backed by turkey, also fighting in north—western syria, and then you have a local armed groups who pushed regime forces out of their territories. now, when we talk about control, hts has full control over its group and decent control over the group that are fighting alongside it. however, that does not apply to other groups whether those who are fighting alongside hts, in northwest syria, or those who started their own fight or even in damascus.

there is potential for sure that what is happening right now and what comes next in the coming few days will be quite crucial. one of the main challenges is what to do with him and had to engage and that is the decision that has been discussed right now not only among syrian actors but also among regional and international actors. i think the outcome of that will somewhat i think the outcome campbell ship what happens later. if we are looking at the scenario in which they will be completely sort of isolated and not engaged with, then we could see potentially divisions as well as competition and even maybe fighting between the groups. as a risk of transition that will try to govern syria. now, if we

imagine different scenario in which the groups interests might be secured with others —— without the participation of him. ., ,., ., without the participation of him. ., ., ., ., him. how important for the role of turkey be _ him. how important for the role of turkey be in _ him. how important for the role of turkey be in trying _ him. how important for the role of turkey be in trying to - of turkey be in trying to ensure some sort of stability over the next few days? i use the term stability relatively of course but turkey seems to have a crucial role in this, doesn't it?— have a crucial role in this, doesn't it? ,, ~ , , ., doesn't it? sure. turkey is now sort of trying — doesn't it? sure. turkey is now sort of trying to _ doesn't it? sure. turkey is now sort of trying to not _ doesn't it? sure. turkey is now sort of trying to not only - sort of trying to not only engage with but negotiate with different local as well as regional and international actors. but, ithink regional and international actors. but, i think there as i said, it's not clear to what extent turkey will be able to maintain that role as well as its influence if the questions we talked about before i'm not

sort of answer is no way that will not only secure joe lanny�*s interest but allow him to play a role in the future because i think many people and they took but the relationship between hts and turkey, they either overestimate to's influence or underestimated. it is a complicated relationship but at the end, they each have their own interests. when those interests overlap, they interests overla p, they cooperate interests overlap, they cooperate but when they don't, there will be competition and this is what we have to keep an eye on. this is what we have to keep an e e on. , , ., this is what we have to keep an e e on. g , ., _, eye on. just a line coming in from the _ eye on. just a line coming in from the iraqi _ eye on. just a line coming in from the iraqi government l eye on. just a line coming in| from the iraqi government on the situation in syria saying intervention will only push the situation in syria towards more conflict and division. we heard from one of the guests on the programme earlier say the west can't impose anything here.

arab countries can help at the west can't try to impose anything. the iraqi government is really important to hear from. saying intervention will only push the situation towards more conflict and division. up back the story very soon but quickly, let's get some of the days avenues. ghana's vice president has conceded in the election. he congratulated his rival, the former president. they are yet to announce official results but he said the decision was based on provisional tallies and pledged to support for a smooth transition. south korea's opposition has denounced a plan by the ruling party to continue running the country after the president steps back from his role. on saturday mr yoon narrowly avoided being impeached by mps.

people across britain are battling high wind and rains following storm darragh. a yellow when the ball in england and wales is in place until this evening, which could mean further disruption. wind speeds peaked at 93 mph yesterday. and paris's restored notre—dame cathedral has been officially reopened in a ceremony attended by world leaders, five years after a catastrophic fire. the assembled dignitaries uploaded firefighters and the workers who restored the building. the entire project cost more than $700 million. we are reporting on the news that the syrian capital damascus has fallen and president bashar al—assad has fled with the opposition leader now, we understand according to reports, in the capital. danny makki is an analyst covering the internal dynamics of the conflict in syria.

he specialises in syria 5 relations with russia and iran. he described what it is like in damascus now. 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 damascenes going out to buy extra supplies and amenities and really just stock up for this period, which was coming. and in the evening, what we saw was the complete opposition, uh, 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 a main square 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, uh, opposition forces with very light arms. nothing really, you know, heavy, uh, 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 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, uh, for the initial storming. and what we did manage to see was just an absolute tonne of military, uh, attire and uniforms 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. uh, 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 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 upped and left. he just left the country. so the morale of the army was at an all—time low. and, um, what we saw in damascus was, was essentially an abandonment of, of the country, uh, partially by agreement and partially by just soldiers defecting, you know, en masse. i mean, i'm talking about hundreds of soldiers

just leaving their positions, uh, 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. the rebel forces' lightning offensive has been led by abu mohammed al—jawlani, and his powerful islamist group, hayat tahrir al—sham. the political and paramilitary force emerged from the syrian uprising of 2011 as an affiliate of al-qaeda of which al jawlani was also commander. but since breaking ties with al-qaeda in 2016, al—jawlani, has stopped stopped wearing the turban worn byjihadists, instead often favouring military fatigues. for years, he has has been trying to change his group's image abroad while enforcing strict islamist rule in the northwest corner of syria under his control. i spoke to mina al—lami, chiefjihadist media specialist

at bbc monitoring who told us more about the group's background. hts with its leader mohammed al—jolani was the first time using his real name recently, has been in control of idlib province in north—west syria seen as the last rebel stronghold for many years and what they have done with idlib is that they have tried to run it like a mini state within a state, they have tried to present themselves as capable governors or de facto authority in that region. hts, as you said, used to be al-qaeda's affiliate in syria but they broke ties with al-qaeda in 2016 and as razan said earlier, they have notjust recently signalled their separation from thejihadist in changing their rhetoric, this has been going on for many years, since 2016. initially that separation from al-qaeda was seen as a cosmetic

move, change of name, but over the years, hts turned their guns against al-qaeda. at some point the two groups clashed in syria and they help marginalise al-qaeda's presence and the presence of foreign fighters in syria, so they have been trying for years, really, to get some kind of recognition, trying to appeal to locals as well as regional powers. and, as hts moved away from al-qaeda, al—jolani has changed his appearance as well. what are his personal ambitions? does he aspire to be the next leader of syria? i think that is very likely. and it is really interesting. up until two weeks ago, al—jolani was facing protests in idlib against his rule, calling for his toppling,

and comparing his security forces to what is called kind of henchmen, a very derogatory term, so for over a year, he and his governments, so—called government in idlib have been trying to issue a range of reforms just to try to stay in power. but now things have changed, so he has managed to hold on to his position in idlib and now he has expanded that and even his critics now have stopped talking about his tyranny. there are kind of cautious references to his so—called tyranny in idlib, and as razan said at this point there is lots ofjoy and happiness expressed by syrians at the toppling of assad. but there are ongoing fears about what hts might have in terms of plans for how syria is governed. for those campaigning

for a regime change, the day has been one of celebration. i spoke a short while ago to syrian activist razan saffour at the doha forum. thank you so much for having me. it is completely surreal. it is something we have been waiting for for such a long time, the majority of the syrian population has been waiting for but i did not expect it to come this fast. a lot of the things we are seeing are completely surreal. we are feeling joy, a lot of hope but also a lot of apprehension, everything is changing so extremely fast. even for syrians who has been active and following this for 13 years it is hard to keep up, or as activists, in the sort of changing events. you have never known anything but the assad family in power. you talk about joy, but the assad family in power.

you talk aboutjoy, but but the assad family in power. you talk about joy, but also apprehension. talk about those two competing emotions. there is 'o and two competing emotions. there is joy and horse _ i have only ever known the assad regime. the regime has been holding syria hostage for the last 5a years, came into power in 1971, and when the father passed away, his son bashar took over in 2001. we have only known those, my generation, only known the assad regime and it has been most brutal and most repressive in its role in syria. and there is extreme hope, the bar is so low than this, a regime that has killed over 600,000 people, has had 170,000 people in dungeons since the 19705, a regime that has decimated the entire country, that used chemical weapons and barrel bombs and all types of ammunition against

a civilian population. there are also feelings of apprehension precisely because of this, we are speaking about a state that has been, you know, held to an entire family for sa years, so the next steps of rebuilding and figuring out how we make syria truly a country for all syrians is going to be a very difficult task, particularly in light of how it happened, and the liberation process. so lots of anticipation. the afghan taliban has congratulated the syrian people and the rebels after the fall of president assad. we are continuing to monitor developments and we will bring you lots more reaction as well as looking at what might happen next. stay with us, here on bbc

news. hello. the weather this weekend has been impacted by storm darragh but the week ahead brings a dramatic change, because high pressure is building. bringing dry, settled weather for most, then cold by day and by night, and that could lead to some overnight frost and fog. why the dramatic change? it is all due to thejet stream. it has been centred across us recently but at the moment we are starting to see quite a dramatic kink developing developing in the jet stream, allowing a large area of high pressure to build in from the west. storm darragh still with us and producing some wet and windy weather across eastern england, with wind gusts in excess of 50 mph, making it feel quite raw under the cloud and rain. further north and west, some brightness coming through.

we will close out the day here with temperatures of around seven celsius. moving through sunday evening and overnight, there were showers will drift further south and west before petering out, but we keep quite a legacy of cloud behind and some scattered showers. clearer skies to the north and west, temperatures in rural areas falling just below freezing, some patchy frost and fog likely first thing, but there will be some sunshine into scotland, northern ireland, northern england and parts of wales. always the cloud feeding in off the north sea, breezy, with the wind starting to fall but still a notable breeze in the south—east and temperatures between 6—9 celsius, only four celsius for under those clear skies in the west of scotland. moving into tuesday, high pressure remains with us. the isobars open up, the winds falling light, so there will be clear skies above scotland, northern ireland and northern england once again. and that will allow for some sunshine to come through. but it will be a cold day, quite a lot of cloud living across england and wales,

a bit of a nuisance from time to time, temperatures struggling in scotland to climb above freezing in the middle part of the afternoon. by the end of the week, the high pressure remains, we could see the potential for this front to introduce a little more cloud and rain into the far north—west, but that quieter weather continuing throughout the week, cold and cloudy in england and wales, the best of the brightness in the north and west.

live from london. this is bbc news. syrian rebels declare damascus is free as the assad family's more than 50—year regime comes to an end. the bbc is in damascus. as we came into the city we saw military equipment beside the road abandoned. thanks, military vehicles, even soldiers took off their uniforms and justjoined the uniforms and just joined the population. uniforms and just joined the population. rebels appear on state tv saying they've toppled a tyrant and have released his prisoners. russia says assad has left the country as his palace is looted. syria's prime minister says he will �*cooperate' with the rebels over a transition of power. israel's prime minister says he ordered the israeli military to "seize" a un—patrolled buffer zone between the israeli— and syrian—controlled golan heights.

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