syrian rebels declare damascus is free, as people take to the streets to celebrate the end of the assad regime. you can hear the sound of celebratory gunfire. people are driving around in their cars, they are giving me peace signs, they are giving me peace signs, they are giving me peace signs, they are saying that life is going to be so much better now that bashar al—assad is gone. syria's former president, bashar al—assad, is reportedly in moscow, claiming asylum from key ally, russia. and western leaders welcome the end of assad's rule, but warn of uncertainty to come. iam i am helena iam helena humphrey. glad you could join me. we begin with continuing coverage of developments in syria. russian state media announced on sunday that the country's former president bashar al—assad and his family are in moscow. it

also said they had granted political asylum. while a kremlin source said it based this on humanitarian considerations. it comes hours after rebel groups took control of syria's capital, forcing assad to flee. the man who led the addressed cheering supporters soon after. he told supporters soon after. he told supporters that all syrians could now breathe freely. he said assad's leadership had spread and corruption. barbara plett usher was the first western journalist to enter damascus since the city fell and she sent us this report. this is an extraordinary moment, a seismic change in syria's balance of power. the strongman of damascus, bashar al—assad, is gone. rebels have declared victory. we were the first western journalists to reach the capital, just hours after it fell. this is where people are celebrating

in the central umayyad square, civilians and rebels. you can hear the sound of celebratory gunfire. people are driving around in their cars, they are giving me peace signs. they are saying that life is going to be so much better now that bashar al—assad is gone. but there is a mix ofjoy and fear in the city. there are those who supported bashar al—assad, who felt they were protected by him, and now they're wondering what is going to happen. here, i spoke to people who have long been waiting for his downfall. "thank you, thank you", she says. "the tyrant has fallen, the tyrant has fallen." many of her family died under president assad's rule, some in prison. my cousin, my son, my family. all... all of them. how are you feeling? translation: it is an indescribable i

feeling, we are so happy. after all the years of dictatorship we have lived through, we were imprisoned in 2014 and now we're out, thank god. we won because of our men and our fighters and now we're at the moment that we are going to build the greatest syria. the old syria has gone, with breathtaking speed, the army melting away in the face of the rebel advance. last week, it was aleppo, yesterday the city of homs, last night the outskirts of damascus. when they arrived, the rebels went straight to a notorious prison to set the inmates free. today, their leader took a victory tour of damascus, visiting the historic umayyad mosque. abu mohammed al—jawlani, head of the islamic group hayat tahrir al—sham. my colleague was there for bbc arabic. chanting

translation: a historic moment, in every sense of the word — abu mohammed al—jawlani here for the first time, in the great umayyad mosque. the rebel commander has been playing down past links to al-qaeda, saying he wants to build a syria for all its people. from the syrian prime minister, also a message of calm. translation: we are all. concerned about this country and its institutions and facilities. i am here in my home, and i do not intend to leave it, except in a peaceful manner, in order to ensure the continuation of the work of public institutions. the president fled, as the rebels closed in. reports in russia now say he's turned up in moscow. a statue of his father pulled down shortly before he flew out of the country. his damascus residence now a tourist attraction, stripped bare of anything valuable, of anything at all. we saw people carrying out

furniture, with no one trying to stop them. the rebels may have brought freedom but not security. looters have been breaking into buildings here, too, deepening anxiety about this in—between time without a government in charge. definitely a creation the macro freedom, but the transition is to happen super—quick. our president shouldn't have just left. he should have taken the proper measures that are needed for him to actually give the keys to the army or the police, you know, control over those areas until a new president comes in, but he was just purely selfish and he left. the country is hoping for peace and fearing chaos. different groups control different areas, no one knows how this will play out, but whatever happens here will be felt across the middle east. barbara plett usher reporting from inside syria where the assad family has controlled the country for some 53 years.

bashar al—assad took power in the 80,000 after his father had held power since the early 19705. jeremy bowen has more in the family dynasty now. bashar al—assad inherited the regime when his father hafez died in 2000, who, in 30 bloody years since seizing power, had jailed and killed tens of thousands — anyone who threatened his rule. after he buried hafez al—assad, syrians hoped bashar, trained as a doctor in london, would reform and modernise the country. so did tony blair, and other western leaders. blair went to damascus in 2001. a year later, bashar al—assad and his wife, asma, who grew up in london, paid a call on the queen. assad never delivered change, and even when thousands and then millions of syrians demanded the fall of the regime after 2011, the year of the arab uprisings,

he might still have saved the country from war by embracing reform. but, instead of that, bashar al—assad went to his rubber—stamp parliament in march 2011, declared foreigners were conspiring to destroy syria, and effectively declared war on any syrian who opposed him. in the first few years of the war, we were able to cross into the large rebel—held areas of the damascus suburbs from the regime side. the rebels were in range of central damascus but could never break through. the regime survived those years because some syrians supported it in damascus. these were alawites, from the same sect as the assads. despite their loyalty, assad also needed iran and the fighters of lebanese hezbollah. syrian christian militias fought for the regime against al-qaeda rebels in the ancient town of maaloula in 2013, augmenting the syrian arab army.

for some syrians, especially minorities, it seemed like a choice between assad and the jihadist killers of islamic state and other extremist groups. by august 2013, losing ground, assad used chemical weapons against rebel—held suburbs of damascus. it was a turning point in the war. the americans backed down from a threat to bomb the regime. the russians, sensing an opportunity, intervened to save it, and assad believed he had made the americans blink first. in february 2015, i had an exclusive interview with bashar al—assad. i asked him about bombing civilians. he was defiant, denied it, and even tried a joke. what about barrel bombs? you don't deny that your forces use them?

i haven't heard of the army using barrel bombs. or maybe cooking pots! large barrels full of explosives and projectiles which dropped from helicopters and explode with devastating effect. there is a lot of testimony about these things. they are called bombs. we have bombs, missiles and bullets. a year later, the russian air force had flattened the side of aleppo held by rebels, a display of destructive power that sharpened president putin's appetite to absorb ukraine. many of the rebels who lived here and in other enclaves were permitted to leave for idlib province. in idlib, they created the fighting force that has finally destroyed the assad regime. in saudi arabia, in may last year, bashar al—assad was embraced by crown prince mohammed bin salman, the most powerful arab leader, and readmitted to the arab league. assad repeated the regime's old boast, that syria was the beating heart of arabism. he must have hoped that rehabilitation was sealing his victory.

instead, when the rebels pushed out of idlib, his regime collapsed in less than a fortnight. jeremy bowen, bbc news. global leaders and officials have been reacting to the fall of damascus and asad's flight to moscow. the un security council said it will hold close consultations on syria on monday, and russia's request, and us presidentjoe biden has called the fall of the assad regime a moment of historic opportunity, while saying there remains a and uncertainty. at long last the assad regime has fallen. this regime brutalised and tortured and killed literally hundreds of thousands of innocent syrians. the fall is a monumental act of justice will stop it is a moment of opportunity for the long—suffering people of syria to build a betterfuture long—suffering people of syria to build a better future for their proud country. it is also a mode of risk and uncertainty,

as we all turn to the question of what comes next. and it uncertainty about syria's future, the pentagon says us warplanes struck more than 75 islamic state targets on syria on sunday. the more i spoke to our state department correspondent bateman. president biden called this moment both an opportunity and a risk. what more can you tell us about his remarks? frankly, i think the _ us about his remarks? frankly, | think the white _ us about his remarks? frankly, i think the white house - us about his remarks? frankly, i think the white house has - i think the white house has been stunned by the speed and magnitude of the rebel advance, and the downfall of bashar al—assad in syria, but at the same time president biden is trying to take part of the credit for it, because what he said during that statement from the roosevelt room a bit earlier was that it was a consequence of his foreign policy decisions over the last four years, firstly to bolster ukraine against russia's �*s full—scale invasion in 2022, and then to poor weapons into israel after the hamas attacks

of the 7th of october and also to facilitate its attacks on hezbollah in lebanon, that it was those factors, he said, that had basically eroded the power of russia and iran, the two outside powers that have been propping up assad in syria. so that was the way in which he took credit for it, as i said. on the other hand, he acknowledged the fact that this is a moment of great uncertainty. you now have leading the charge to damascus and essentially to all intents and essentially to all intents and purposes the biggest power broker it seems so far in damascus, hgs, a group designated as a terrorist organisation by the united states. so what comes next? who rules syria, that is now something that is absolutely crucial for the administration, because while it is sharing this moment of euphoria with many syrians for the downfall of assad, that won't last long. the key question becomes now

does get replaced with something even less amenable to the americans than what was there before?— the americans than what was there before? and we also saw when president _ there before? and we also saw when president biden - there before? and we also saw when president biden was - when president biden was delivering those remarks that he was offering, he was talking about that us support that would come, but ijust wonder of course, he is speaking as someone who will be an outgoing president, so how much weight do those promises carry, especially given the fact that there is of course and an incoming administration which will likely see a shift in foreign policy? we are in crisis management mode at the moment, so what the white house does is critical for now. that includes things like the degree to which they try to bolster the troop presence east of the euphrates, on the border with iraq and jordan, and all of that officially to counter islamic state group there, and in fact we have seen a lot of big american air strikes in central syria against ias

positions today, the pentagon said as a warning against iis, so that gives you a sense that another battlefield is already erupting. they are telling i asked not to take advantage of the current situation. everyone is trying to take control and shore up their minds as they have them at the moment, and that includes the americans in syria. so that matters. but as you allude to in the long term, president trump coming in, he has been talking about this on social media over the last 2a hours, basically saying it is all obama's fault, the problem in syria, russia is right to get out of the country is a mess, it's not our problem, and i suspect we will see him continue that sort of position on this. the reality on the ground is honestly a lot more complicated. his own officials had to undo the announcement for withdrawal of american troops during his first term. will he try and do the same again? well, we still have a way to go until then, but incidentally, the other thing he is trying to do is to use this as a moment to exploit

some weakness on the part of vladimir putin, saying you should take a deal in the same time in ukraine as well. tom bateman there. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu says the collapse of the syrian government is a direct result of his country's forceful action against hezbollah and iran. he says he had ordered israeli troops to temporarily seize areas in the buffer zone between the golan heights and syria to prevent hostile forces embedding themselves there. meanwhile, british prime minister sir keir starmer is currently in abu dhabi and gave his reaction to the syrian rebels's victory. i welcome the fact that assad has gone. the syrian people had to put up with his brutal regime forfar, far, far too long. we are talking to regional allies. it is very important now that there is a political settlement, a political way forward, and it is very, very important that we emphasise that civilians and minorities must be protected in this process, but very, very pleased

that assad has fallen. joining me live is aaron zelin, a senior fellow at the washington institute for near east policy. very good to have you on the programme. welcome. this is of course very early days but what do you make of what we are seeing in syria since the fall of the regime? i seeing in syria since the fall of the regime?— of the regime? i think that there is a _ of the regime? i think that there is a lot _ of the regime? i think that there is a lot of _ of the regime? i think that there is a lot of questions | there is a lot of questions about the future now, because of course hts, they started the offensive from the north but it was actually the rebels from the south that took over the city of damascus, and they don't have the same level of capabilities to govern a city like hts does, and so because of the speed of everything happening, we've begun to see some looting within the city, and therefore one of the key factors going forward is to make sure that everything is secured so that this transition can happen, and everyone can go back to their normal day—to—day lives. back to their normal day-to-day lives. ~ ., ., ~' back to their normal day-to-day

lives. ~ ., ., ~ ., lives. what do you think that olitical lives. what do you think that political transition _ lives. what do you think that political transition could - lives. what do you think that political transition could look like? do you think there is the possibility here for infighting, for groups under that broader opposition umbrella? i that broader opposition umbrella?— that broader opposition umbrella? ~ ., ,, umbrella? i think that hts will t and umbrella? i think that hts will try and integrate _ umbrella? i think that hts will try and integrate the _ umbrella? i think that hts will try and integrate the elements from the south, because there were hts guys that