what - trouble is al-assad in? a great deal of trouble. what we - trouble is al-assad in?will i deal of trouble. what we will see in the coming days, certainly is that these rebel advances are being put to the test and again, bev that much opposition, not much defence from the regime in forces but that may change once they reached the coast and the stronghold areas and as i mentioned, come closer to threatening russia's naval base and that as a base that russia is not going to want to give up on and not mine to give up on positions and the rest of syria but it is hard to imagine at this point what we have seen so far is that the iranian troops that al—assad really depended on and other phases of this conflict are nowhere to be seen and it's nowhere to be seen exceptin and it's nowhere to be seen except in a few cases where we have seen some tactical strikes and some retaliatory strikes but without these two elements, it is to imagine how al—assad reasserts himself and the parts of the country that have been taken and so, the question is, how far does this rebel advance ext

in saudi arabia, in may last year, bashar al—assad was embraced by crown prince mohammed bin salman, 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

politically, because their key patron, iran, feels vulnerable and their key ally in syria, bashar al-assad. the assad regime is now gone. but most importantly becky, this is a moment where even though we know we at some point tomorrow after tomorrow, need to think about what this is going to mean for the future of syria. it's a treacherous dangerous road ahead there could be infighting between the different rebel groups. there could be more violence. we can only hope for a smooth transition from here. but this is really a moment to embrace the joy that syrians are feeling, to see their country returning to them and away from this dictatorship. the scenes from damascus, from aleppo from homs, from hama, from these prisons where people are being let free are just incredible. and that is a moment, really, that we need to pause and and give credit to the syrians who worked so hard and paid so dearly in blood and soil over those over those years and and there is no doubt that millions of syrians will be celebrating today. >> those who are outside of the country, displaced outside of the country

a year later, bashar al—assad and his wife, who grew up in london, paid a call on the queen. all of the regime after 2011, the year of the arab uprisings, he might still have saved the country for more by embracing reform. but instead of that, bashar al—assad went to his rubber—stamp parliament in march 2011 to save 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 though years because some syrian supported it in damascus. these were from the same sect as the assad family. despite the loyalty, ten also needed iran and the fighters of lebanese hezbollah. syrian christian militias fought for the regime against al-qaeda rebels in the ancient town in 2013. augmenting the syrian arab army. for some syrians, especially minorities, it seemed like a choice between assad and the jihadist killers of islami

and how week a position was bashar al-assad in as a result?>> well, as we were saying, the morale of the syrian army was a key factor her. and my sense is that the questions very early on, when this broad offensive started with the capture of aleppo nine days ago, the questions, i think they quickly understood that the syrian armies, the readiness and ability to put up a stiff fight was highly questionable. and therefore questions did not invest much, they did not send in a lot of reinforcements, they did not send in more aircraft to increase the number of bombing strikes against armed opposition elements, the questions did not do any of that. they did not repeat the experience in 2015. ukraine was absolutely a distraction, obviously, but i think even without ukraine, i am not sure the questions would have tried to save what they clearly considered to be a sinking ship. >> reporter: in the last few moments within the last half hour or so, we have had a statement from the white house saying that president biden and his team are monitoring what

bashar al assad's family fled _ anymore. bashar al assad's family fled to _ anymore.ed to moscow. - anymore. bashar al assad's i family fled to moscow. russia called a security council meeting today that will take place later. what can we expect? place later. what can we “peel?— place later. what can we exect? ~ , . ., ~ ., expect? we expect talking that all forces in _ expect? we expect talking that all forces in syria _ expect? we expect talking that all forces in syria and _ expect? we expect talking that all forces in syria and other - all forces in syria and other militant groups will advance to be stronghold. between turkiye and assyria a main players in this area and to find a political solution. and talk about the resolution in which drew a map, a about the resolution in which drewa map, a roadmapforthe peace where there is negotiation, transitions, elections, supervised, as it is fair the election will be and written by the syrian people and open for all sectors and all groups from inside syria and outside assyria. the hope is a resolution is reality so it wa

perspective of the united states and israel, one of the big concerns is who now is in control of bashar al assad'smical and biological weapons. you might remember, assad repeatedly used chemical weapons against his own people over the course of this war. the obama administration was preparing to launch strikes against the assad regime after a particularly heinous use of weapons that killed large numbers of civilians. the obama administration called off that strike. they did not enforce president obama's redline in the end, that was a decision that was widely criticized in parts of the middle east. but they achieved a deal with the assad regime, where the regime agreed to destroy a lot of their biological and chemical weapons. but nobody thinks that all of those weapons are destroyed, and a key question now is where are they, who is in control of them, and is there any danger at this point that they could fall into the hands of terrorist groups? all of syria's neighbors, israel, jordan, turkey, lebanon, iraq, all watching very, very closely. one of the big applications here is that iran has used sy

he's got some new information, some major breaking news on the whereabouts of bashar al-assad the syrian dictator. what are we learning? >> yeah, wolf, just 30 minutes ago, when you and i were talking, we didn't know the whereabouts of assad. hugely important, because if he's still trying to hold out and form up some kind of resistance inside of syria, as wild an idea as that might be, that was a worry. what we have learned now, the russian state media tass is saying that assad and his family have landed in moscow. the russian state has agreed to give them asylum for humanitarian reasons. so we now know the fate of assad. he fled yesterday during the day from damascus. he fled to the russian air base in the northwest of lebanon. and then today he has been transported to moscow and this appears to be now where he'll end his days. what value russia thinks he has for them going forward is unclear. of course, those two major bases inside of syria, the tartus the major mediterranean warm water port facility, a vital strategic interest for russia is something they'll be watching closely. we un

bashar al—assad was preceded by his father. in fact a former british ambassador said 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. so, now, because syria is such a strategic place in the heart of the region, what happens in syria affects all of its neighbours and by extension the wider world. so the question is whether these rebels that are taking over can bejudicious, can they try and promote stability, can they, as they have said, they have said that there should be no revenge against minority groups, but let's see what happens. because what i have just described is, if you like, 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 of torment and bloodshed and civil

syria's former president, bashar al—assad, is reportedly in moscow — claiming asylum from key ally russiaern leaders welcome the end of assad's rule, but warn of uncertainty to come. welcome to newsday. the family dynasty that controlled syria for more than half a century is no longer in power, with president bashar al assad having fled the country and rebel forces now in control of damascus. russian state media has announced that bashar al—assad and his family are in moscow and have been granted political asylum. in damascus, thousands of people celebrated in the main square, chanting "freedom," after the rebels seized control, seemingly bringing to an end a civil war that's lasted 13 brutal years. but when the end came, it came quickly, the speed of the rebel victory, astonishing. it was only on tuesday, that the city of aleppo was captured in a shock offensive, then by the weekend they had full control of horns, and the province of deraa was in their grasp. then the rebels entered the capital, meeting almost no resistance. barbara plett—usher, who was the first western journalist to en

bashar al—assad.d out a facebook post from a small militia swearing vengeance. so is this such a threat that you want to take your family out to lebanon? you're worried about your lives? translation: yes, sure. the kids, my wife, i'm afraid for them. that's why i'm taking them out to lebanon. violence consumed iraq and libya after their dictators. their fear is the same for syria. it's notjust about the legacy of the war. it's about the legacy of more than half a century of dictatorship. these are people, and there are thousands more coming down the road, who don't feel safe in the new syria. and going in the opposite direction are all those who just want to get home. the duty free shop, once a favourite of those the regime had made rich, has been looted and destroyed. islamist anger at a decadent regime. we drove on to damascus. the rebels took syria as assad's army faded away but the country's still under fire. to stop islamist rebels taking over syria's abandoned military infrastructure, across the

bashar al—assad this area used to be full of photographs of him, it was a centre of loyalists.eremy bowen reports from the capital damascus. police in northumbria say former england rugby player tom voyce is thought to have died after his car was swept away in storm darragh. # equal pay... birmingham's bankrupt city council agrees to pay out hundreds of thousands of pounds to women who were being paid less than men for similarjobs. and a colony of seals kept secret for years off the coast of suffolk. and coming up on sportsday later in the hour on bbc news tonight could be the night for liverpool, as they look to become the first side through to the knockout stage in the champions league. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the man accused of killing a healthcare executive in new york last week has appeared in a court in pennsylvania after, being arrested by police last night. 26—year—old luigi mangione has been charged with the murder of brian thompson by new york authorities. he was arrested at a mcdonalds in pennsylvania in possession of a gun. our correspondent

bashar al—assad took power in the year 2000.nherited syria's police state from his father, hafez, and initially promised reform. he and his british born wife, asma tried to present a new image of syria to the world. there was even an audience with the queen. but the change that so many syrians hoped for failed to materialise. and in 2011, when syrians rose up against his regime, this was the response. as accounts of atrocities multiplied, bashar al—assad denied any responsibility. we don't kill our people. no government in the world kill its people unless it's led by 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. over the next few years, hundreds of thousands of syrians were killed in a brutal civil war in which the regime used both barrel bombs and chemical weapons at a staggering human cost. the regime took back aleppo in 2016 with the help of russian airstrikes, but last week the rebels were back in the city after an offensiv

bashar al—assad was last seen on sunday, meeting his backers from iran. as been weakened by conflict with israel and can no longer give him the support he needs. the assad regime has murdered, gassed and tortured thousands of its own people, but a big question mark now hangs over what comes next. as his rule crumbles around him, many fear what could follow for syria. frank gardner, bbc news. speaking earlier on saturday, the un's envoy for syria told of its own people, but a big question mark now hangs over what comes next. as his rule crumbles around him, many fear what could follow for syria. frank gardner, bbc news. speaking earlier on saturday, the un's envoy for syria told the bbc a negotiated solution is still possible and that a deal is necessary to avoid bloodshed and chaos. geir pedersen was speaking in qatar's capital, doha, where diplomats were holding emergency talks. key regional players including saudi arabia, egypt, turkey, jordan, iran and iraq were in attendance, along with russia's foreign minister, sergei lavrov. let speak now to mohamed

we can see there is still the bust of hafez al assad. of course, the father of bashar al-assad.in, the assad dynasty, the assad family ruling syria, as clarissa was saying before for 53 years, not a single light on in here. it's unclear whether or not any of the staff are actually still working or intend to come back. but as you can see, that transition that is going on inside syria is definitely something that the russians have also recognized. being the biggest backers of bashar al-assad and his government for such a very long period of time. the russians are now saying that they are talking to all of the armed groups on the ground as well, because of course, the russians are very concerned about their military assets that they have inside syria. those, of course, are substantial. russia's only mediterranean port is in the port town of tartus. just last week, there was a big naval exercise that the russians conducted. also firing nuclear capable missiles in that exercise as well. and then, of course there is the airbase at khmeimim, which is near latakia, where the russians ha

they are saying life is going to be so much better now that bashar al—assad is gone. a's former president, basharal—assad, is reportedly in moscow — claiming asylum from key ally russia. western leaders welcome the end of assad's rule, but warn of uncertainty to come. i'm helena humphrey. we begin the programme with our continuing coverage of developments in syria. russian state media announced sunday that the country's former president bashar al—assad and his family are in moscow. they are also said to have been granted political asylum. a kremlin source said it is based on �*humanitarian considerations. it comes hours after rebel groups took control of syria's capital — forcing assad to flee. the man who led the islamist rebels, toppling assad — addressed cheering supporters in a damascus mosque shortly after. mohammad al—joulani — whose real name is ahmed al—sharaa — told supporters that all syrians could now breathe freely. he said assad's leadership had spread sectarianism and corruption. our middle east correspondent barbara plett usher was the first western jour

we're also learning new details right now on where the former syrian dictator, bashar al assad has fled. an official source in russia tells cnn assad and his family have arrived in moscow and have been granted asylum in russia. cnn's fred pleitgen is in moscow for us. fred what more are you learning about assad's arrival in in russia yeah it seems that this happened throughout the course today. >> russia, of course, by far one of the biggest backers of the assad government over the past couple of years, really doing a lot to keep assad in power. and of course, also very important, keeping in power when that civil war was really at its height, and especially with russia's air force now, tonight, a source telling cnn that assad and members of his family, it's unclear how many have arrived here in moscow and have been granted asylum on humanitarian grounds. the source says to stay here in russia, so it seems as though he has fled here to russia, and he's being granted asylum here in russia. and this really comes after a day of uncertainty, wolf, as to the whereabouts of the syrian presiden

a statue of hafez al assad, syria's last leader, was pulled down. the rebels sense that victory was in their sights, but this has happened more quickly than anyone predicted. >> translator: dear brothers, we are living in the final moments of the liberation of the city of homs. this is the historic event we distinguished true from falsehood. we advise our brothers in the resistance to show compassion toward the people. those who lay down their weapons should be granted safety and as you flee should not be caught. >> reporter: syrian government forces seem to be fleeing. the military base in hama was abandoned. and regime soldiers on the right of the video are abandoning their posts in the west of damascus, seen changing out mir military fatigues into civilian clothing, and fading into the population. every building and town square the rebels take, symbols and images of the regime are being torn down as syria faces a new and unknown reality. the coming hours and days will be crucial. not just for the future of syria, but for wider middle east stabili

and who will secure bashar al-assad's chemical weapons? >> incredibly good point on chemical weapons, something to give a lot of consideration to. there's an international organization based in the netherlands, whose job it is to prohibit the use of chemical weapons. there needs to be lots of discussion how to do this, with those people currently in charge to make sure those chemical weapons can't go rogue, make sure they are safe from that. it may not be our fight but it certainly is a matter of great concern for france and all our allies. this is a signature moment to the middle east to. we . we all have an interest in working closely together with the countries to finally take some really decisive steps towards stability and i'm sure that is what we want to do. arthel: as tenuous as the situation is, you remain hopeful. it won't be easy but there could be stability ahead. in the near future. >> i don't want to pretend it is eminent. that would be too optimistic but we've got to look at the opportunities alongside the risks. >> thank you

bashar al—assad was last seen on sunday, meeting his backers from iran. n weakened by conflict with israel and can no longer give him the support he needs. the assad regime has murdered, gassed and tortured thousands of its own people, but a big question mark now hangs over what comes next. as his rule crumbles around him, many fear what could follow for syria. frank gardner, bbc news. let speak now to mohamed taha, from bbc arabic. mohamed, what's the latest you can tell us? thank you. the statement that was issued by the syrian prime minister now that he is ready to co—operate with any force that would be elected or chosen by the syrian people, that particular statement means that all the reports we are talking about are fairly correct. at the syrian president, bashar al—assad, probably has left the country and the opposition now is under control. this is a historic moment for the syrian people and the region. we saw the syrian president, bashar al—assad, defiant against the opposition for nearly 14 years while in this time there were many arab leaders w

president bashar al—assad took power in 2000 after his father had held power since the early 1970s. des, but in the past few years, its focus had shifted. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg has more on the news reported by russian state television. it was a brief announcement, a kremlin sourcin- that bashar kremlin sourcing that bashar al—assad and his family had arrived in moscow, had been given asylum on medicare and grounds. i think that these extraordinary events we have been witnessing are a major blow to the kremlin. after all, russia, russia's intervention in the syrian war was driven to a large extent by russia's desire to protect itself as a global power, shoring up assad, was seen as a way of challenging the west, and now in a matter of days, this kremlin— syria project has unraveled in dramatic circumstances. i think that russia's priority note will be the fates of its two main military bases in syria, one air base, which had given russia and would hold in the eastern mediterranean. meanwhile, tonight, russian state television is telling russians this, this tv stud, quit or

in the last few minutes, reuters has ported sources in the kremlin saying that the deposed bashar al—assad family are in moscow. there are also reports that assad has arrived with his family members, that is according to the russian state news agencies, citing unnamed sources. they say that russia has granted assad political asylum out of humanitarian consideration. also, just to let you know there are apparently talks being requested on syria by a roster with the un security council consultations going on. a partner could take place on december the 9th. reports that russia is a question consultations on syria at the un security council. —— is requesting. concerns from russia about the future security of the military bases, they have two in syria. and about the safety of their personnel, the military, who are in syria still, of course. our correspondent barbara plett—usher has reached damascus. 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 journalist

up went the flag of the syrian rebels to mark the ousting of bashar al—assad. ussia, although his exact whereabouts are unknown. fanfare the man who has reportedly given assad asylum was giving out medals — to russian soldiers who'd fought in ukraine. from vladimir putin, no mention of syria. events there are a huge blow to the kremlin. that is because for nearly a decade president putin had poured resources into keeping assad in power. he became moscow's man in the middle east, shored up by russian firepower. and i'd better stop there because it's about to get very loud indeed. a few years back, we visited russia's airbase in syria, khmeimim. from here, fighterjets were conducting airstrikes on rebel positions. russian bases in syria gave it a foothold in the eastern mediterranean, but without assad, would it lose that? today, i asked president putin's spokesman what would happen to its bases. dmitri peskov told me that would be discussed with syria's new leaders. losing its staunchest ally in the middle east, that is painful for the kremlin. vladimir putin had

it is important to note this is not the first time rebels were able to threaten bashar al- assad. they were able to do so in 2013 and 2015. in both cases, the assad regime, but it was on the verge of falling it was the russians and iranians who rushed in to rescue him and it appears the state was never able to be rebuilt. assad remained heavily dependent on the russians and iranians. the iranians have been weakened by the israelis and the proxies are being hurt by the lack of public support that they have within syria itself, and i think the second dynamic is that the russians got so concerned with ukraine and perhaps they were lulled into this perception that syria was becoming a frozen conflict and therefore it was no longer a priority. it is important to remember that over the past seven months what we saw was a set of the anticipation of any offensive, there was a view in the region that perhaps assad was going to stay and it was time to rehabilitate bashar al-assad. saudi arabia had rehabilitated him into the arab league . again of turkey as well as coming out and saying he wa

but back in 2015, russia had stepped in to turn the tide of the war in bashar al—assad's favour. helped defeat the rebels in aleppo and elsewhere, and led 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. that's taking the regional reaction. with me now isjiyar gol from the bbc persian service we have these live pictures coming in showing massive celebrations in the country, we know that they are about 3.6 million syrians who are refugees million syrians who are

president bashar al—assad took power in 2000 after his father had held power since the early 19705. y for decades but, in the past few years, its focus had shifted. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg has more on the news coming from russian state television. he is now in moscow. it was a brief announcement, quoting a kremlin source, saying that bashar al—assad and his family had arrived in moscow, had been given asylum on humanitarian grounds. i think that these extraordinary events that we have been witnessing are a major blow to the kremlin. after all, russia — russia's intervention in the syrian war was driven, to a large extent, by russia's desire to protect itself as a global power, shoring up assad was seen as a way of challenging the west and now, in a matter of days, this kremlin—syria project has sort of unraveled in dramatic circumstances. i think that russia's priority now will be the fate of its two main military bases in syria — one air base, one naval base — which had given russia a foothold in the eastern mediterranean. meanwhile, tonight, russian state television is te

rebel forces in syria say the capital of damascus has been liberated, claiming president bashar al-assad has been overthrown. in this video, you see prime minister mohammed ghazi al jalali being escorted by rebels in damascus earlier, they purportedly took him to a hotel to hand over government authority well, people are celebrating in the streets, some carrying huge rebel flags. the rebels actively now searching for assad, they say, who has not been seen or heard of for days. a source tells cnn rebels questioning syrian military officers and intelligence officials who might have knowledge about his movements. well, the white house says it is closely monitoring the situation in syria the remarkable speed of the syrian rebel advance is rapidly changing. the biden administration's assessment. several u.s. officials told cnn that the white house foresaw the possibility of assad's falling within days. but as we can see, it came sooner than that cnn's juliette benbrook has the very latest for you. >> if american analysis proves to be true, that would be a spectacularly fast fall from power fo

the uk prime minister sir keir starmer welcomed the fall of bashar al—assad's barbaric regime in syriaentjoe biden called the fall of the assad regime a moment of historic opportunity, but said there remains risk and uncertainty. the pentagon said the us carried out strikes against over 75 targets linked to the islamic state group in syria. meanwhile, israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu has claimed the collapse of the syrian government was a direct result his country's forceful action against hezbollah and iran. the idf also struck government security buildings and weapons depots. israeli ground forces also advanced beyond the demilitarised zone around the golan heights on the borderfor the first time in 50 years. i am joined byjoe rogan, former deputy assistant secretary of state in the 0bama administration. many thanks for coming on newsday. trump has said syria is not the us's fight. is he right to distance himself from the crisis? marko it doesn't really _ himself from the crisis? marko it doesn't really have - himself from the crisis? marko it doesn't really have a - himsel

but dmitry peskov declined to confirm the whereabouts of president bashar al—assad. ans to do so in they had no plans to do so in the near future. they had no plans to do so in the nearfuture. and dmitry peskov, the kremlin spokesman, stressed that russia is ready to maintain contacts with those who will be in power in syria. some lines coming from that kremlin briefing that steve rosenberg was mentioning, saying that president putin personally made the decision to grant asylum to president bashar al—assad and his family, but declining to give any detail, for example, where assad is at the moment. also wouldn't say when president putin and assad met last. we mentioned that the un rights chief has been talking and he says syria needs to build a legal system for those who may have committed atrocity crimes including former president assad and his senior officials. i can take you to the live pictures from the border. the other issue is a lot of those refugees that fled during the assad regime, and there are millions of them, are now trying to make their way back. this is

according to russian state media the deposed syrian president, bashar al—assad, and his family have been a key ally of the former president. the us has led international reaction to the fall of the assad government with president biden describing it as a "fundamental act ofjustice" after decades of repression, but also a moment of risk and uncertainty. we'll have the latest from syria shortly but first this report from our middle east correspondent, hugo bachega. tears of happiness. gunfire. gunshots to celebrate the moment many in syria waited for decades to see. they are free of the assad regime, and their country is at a turning point. it was an astonishing campaign by rebels. they advanced quickly. last week they took aleppo. on the weekend, homs. and in a matter of hours, they were in damascus. in some places, they faced no resistance. the army was unable — and apparently unwilling — to stop them. this is the end of a brutal regime that didn't tolerate dissent. the assads crushed any kind of opposition. they killed, arrested and tortured their critics. when the rebels arrived in the

and then trying to stand up to the syrian regime of hafez al assad and then bashar al-assad and many people were assassinated for doing that, including our former prime minister rafiq hariri, in 2005, who tried also not just to oppose syria, but to push back against the hezbollah stranglehold on lebanese politics, which has only grown or had only grown stronger since that day. and now, as you say we've watched hezbollah being decimated in lebanon and the the fall of the syrian regime, which was which had become key in that axis that iran had built across the region, and that leaves iran with not very much left in what i describe as its forward defense strategy. it had all these proxies around the region to keep the fight with its enemies. in iran's view america and israel far away from its own borders. and that has now very clearly collapsed that carries some dangers for countries like like israel, possibly for lebanon. we'll have to see how things unfold inside syria. there is at first the incredible joy that we need to recognize that syrians are elated to see this oppressive regime

— including the success of bashar al-assad's regime? it has taken us b a al-assad's regime?has taken us by a significant amount i al-assad's regime? it has taken us by a significant amount of. us by a significant amount of surprise the conflict had been more or less frozen for three orfour years, more or less frozen for three orfouryears, and more or less frozen for three orfour years, and the or four years, and the swiftness orfour years, and the swiftness with which the rebel alliance has managed to capture aleppo is something that would certainly have bashar al—assad pause as well as his military and given he has had to rely on and given he has had to rely on a rainy and support, and russian airpower, in the past, and both those countries now have their own problems they have their own problems they have to deal with. it might be quite difficult for assad to be able to roll back and dislodge this new incursion outside of idlib province.— idlib province. how co-ordinated i idlib province. how co-ordinated are i idlib province. howl co-ordinated are the idlib province. how

the fall of bashar al—assad's regime marks the end of a four—decade partnership that cost tehran tensollars and formed the cornerstone of its regional strategy. public criticism of that investment is now emerging across iranian society, even from those who long supported it. for more, i spoke to alex vatanka, director of the iran program at the middle east institute here in washington. the whole world has been watching the recent events in syria and they have been talking about what this says about the allies of bashar al—assad, russia and iran and what are people and around making a what appears to be a failure for the regime? you know, there _ failure for the regime? you know, there are _ failure for the regime? 7m. know, there are basically two camps here. if you listen to officials including the highest leader the supreme leader, he is focused on what he thinks is a conspiracy. he is much more focused in how to the fall of the bashar al—assad regime come about pointing the finger at the united states and israel, he has not taken much time to talk about the horrible track record of

"may god take revenge on bashar al—assad.", rebels freed thousands of prisoners here on their march to damascus, amazed at this sudden recovery of their lives. the empty cells a striking image of how much has changed, but many believe this isn't the end — people still trapped, they think, in an underground prison. the syrian civil defence group the white helmets has joined the search. translation: we believe there's a network of cells. with prisoners beneath the jail, but we haven't yet been able to find the entrance. we do not have any details on how many people are underground. family members have reached the prison building, pushing at the gates to get in. we squeezed through on a surge of excitement. for a moment, they thought they'd made a discovery. they're searching the bowels of the prison, looking for tunnels that lead to hidden cells. we went down to see for ourselves the frantic efforts to break through to anyone who might still be alive. this is where they think they may have found an entrance to an underground pri

a man is arrested at al—assad.an is arrested at a pennsylvania mcdonald's in connection with the killing of a healthcare ceo in new york. concern in seoul over who is in control of the country as the president is barred from travel. hello and welcome to newsday. i'm steve lai. we start in the middle east where seismic events in syria have been causing shockwaves in the country and abroad. work is under way in damascus to build a transitional government, currently no—one is officially in charge of the country but power appears to be consolidating into the powers —— into the hands of one amanda, the islamist rebel leader widely seen as the mastermind of assad's downfall. he met with the prime minister, who has now been replaced but he says he will still help with a smooth transition of power. while the victors turn their attention to politics, the syrian people are trying to reclaim their lives. huge crowds gathered today at the notorious saydnaya prison near damascus, with people desperately hoping to find evidence

bashar al—assad was last seen on sunday, meeting his backers from iran. been weakened by conflict with israel and can no longer give him the support he needs. the assad regime has murdered, gassed and tortured thousands of its own people, but a big question mark now hangs over what comes next. as his rule crumbles around him, many fear what could follow for syria. frank gardner, bbc news. i spoke in the last few hours with rim turkmani. she is a syria research director at the london school of economics. she opposes the assad regime and gave me her thoughts on the unfolding situation. because of your position, you have not been able to return to syria. were we to see the assad regime fall, would you then be able to return? do you have hope of that now, watching what we are seeing unfolding? absolutely, for the first time, i hope i will be able to make it back to my country after ten years — no, 1a years. last time i was in syria was in 2010, shortly after the uprising started. snd i openly declared my opposition on the side of the syrian people, and since

ts bashar al-assad reportedly says he never believed to freed to russia. a special report on syria's streets with members of the rebel group now in charge. and a devastating cyclone rips through the french island territory leaving what residents call apocalyptic seas. ♪ sumi: welcome to world news america. syria's former president bashar al-assad said he never planned to step down as president and insist he left syria at russia's request, according to a statement on the telegram channel belonging to the syrian presidency offering his view of the rebel offensive that toppled him. it is unclear who currently controls that channel or whether mr. assad wrote the post but he claims he was besieged on a russian base where he was overseeing combat operations only to find that syrian troops abandoned their positions. he went on to defend his record serving as president and said his bond with the syrian people remains unshaken. it comes as russia's military activity increases. russian forces were seen heading to the city of tartus. the european union's foreign poli

, and — the fall of bashar al assad, and how— the fall of bashar al assad, and how they are hopeful forions of this new_ seeing the first indications of this new authority, and they are trying to say that they are very— are trying to say that they are very much_ are trying to say that they are very much in power here. we have — very much in power here. we have seen_ very much in power here. we have seen banners and posters across — have seen banners and posters across aleppo. there is a banner— across aleppo. there is a banner with a across aleppo. there is a bannerwith a qr across aleppo. there is a banner with a qr code, and people _ banner with a qr code, and people can scan these banner to guess— people can scan these banner to guess -- — people can scan these banner to guess —— get access to information about public services, basic services across the city — services, basic services across the city. there's also a billboard here in the city telling _ billboard here in the city telling people that freeing detainees is him moral obligation, sol detainees is him moral obligation, so i

assad has been toppled'. the group hayat tahrir alho have their roots in al-qaeda, have been trying to rebrand themselves as a nationalist force. they say they've freed what they called hundreds of unjustly detained prisoners held injails in syria. the russian foreign ministry said president assad stepped down and left syria as a result of negotiations with "other participants in the armed conflict" but that russia was not involved in those negotiations and does not know where he is now. there were scenes of celebration on the steps of the presidential palace in damascus — within its walls, people can be seen picking through rooms and corridors ransacked by rebels. 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 ba ra ba ra plett—usher has managed to

it was a stronghold of assad supporters, until they bolted the same night as bashar al—assad did.e woke up with the sound of gun fire - and smoke, we saw the weapons and their uniforms thrown away in the streets. she said the rebel fighters took the weapons and showed me the uniforms thrown on to the rubbish dump and into the dustbin of history like the dictatorship. bashar al—assad, this area used to be full of posters of him and his father, because it was the centre of loyalists from his own alawite community. a lot of guys who lived here sup ported by theirfamilies by carrying guns for the regime. in the intelligence or in the military. now, like him, they have gone. our arabic correspondent sally nabil has been on the streets of damscus speaking to people about about life after assad. we are here in central damascus and life is just started to go back to normal. over the past couple of days, and right after the downfall of assad, the shops were closed and people were scared. now, the shops are open and people are going back shopping and a lot of coffee shops are working and ye

but president bashar al assad is gone. his palace once impenetrable now open to a photo taking public. hasan's defeat was at the hands of a group who watched a lightning fast offensive and faced little resistance from the syrian army. rebel forces say they have, quote, fully liberated a number of cities and have emptied prisons that had become a symbol of torture. in a civil war that up until now seemed frozen. but as the statues and muonumens to the assad dynasty, authoritarian rule passed from father to son is now over. ten years ago, at the height of the civil war, assad was barely clinging on to power and was rescued by russia and iran, along with lebanon's powerful iranian-backed hezbollah militia, who ticked the war firmly in his favor through a pushing campaign of well-documented war crimes, including indiscriminate air strikes and chemical weapons attacks, a brutality against his own people that's hard to fathom. but russia is now preoccupied with its war on ukraine. hezbollah's leadership has been decapitated afte

bashar al-assad and his family have arrived in moscow and have been granted asylum in russia. s fred pleitgen is in moscow for us. fred, what more are you learning about assad's arrival? where you are in russia yeah, a russian source, wolf. >> now confirming that bashar al-assad is indeed on the ground here in moscow, as are members of his family as well. and the russians are saying that he was granted asylum here in russia on humanitarian grounds as they put it. so obviously even after he was been ousted from power in syria, the russians are still allowing him to come here to this country and most probably stay in this country as well as he has now been given asylum by the russians. all of this coming a wolf at the end of the day, where the whereabouts of the former syrian leader were very much unclear, the rebels, of course, storming into damascus earlier today, saying that he had fled but then it was unclear where he was and it was actually the russians who were the first to confirm that bashar al-assad had indeed left syria. they say that he had told those under him to make

swept into the capitol city of damascus today with break neck speed finally toppling the brutal al assad regime after 13 years of civil war. it's a conflict that former and soon to be president again donald trump is familiar with. he once bombed assad's military to punish them for using chemical weapons and then ordered u.s. troops out of syria six years ago. trump spent saturday reconnecting with u.s. allies in paris. >> certainly seems like the world is going a little crazy right now. >> we'll have the latest from the region and talk with the chairman of the house intelligence committee, mike turner. >>> following the congressional task force investigation into security failures leading to the assassination attempt of donald trump earlier this year -- >> at every step of the way they failed. >> -- top investigators. pennsylvania republican mike kelley and jason crow will give us their findings on how to fix the secret service. >>> finally, with the future of tiktok in doubt, we'll hear from a potential buyer. it's all just ahead on "face the nation." >>> good morning and welcome to "fa

bashar al—assad.out a facebook post from a small militia swearing vengeance. so is this such a threat that you want to take your family out to lebanon? you're worried about your lives? translation: yes, sure. the kids, my wife, i'm afraid for them. that's why i'm taking them out to lebanon. violence consumed iraq and libya after their dictators. their fear is the same for syria. it's notjust about the legacy of the war. it's about the legacy of more than half a century of dictatorship. these are people, and there are thousands more coming down the road, who don't feel safe in the new syria. and going in the opposite direction are all those who just want to get home. the duty free shop, once a favourite of those the regime had made rich, has been looted and destroyed. islamist anger at a decadent regime. we drove on to damascus. the rebels took syria as assad's army faded away but the country's still under fire. to stop islamist rebels taking over syria's abandoned military infrastructure, across the c

these crippling sanctions that used to exist on the al assad regime. to exist on the al assad regime-exist on the al assad reaime. ., ,, , . ., regime. thank you very much for “oininr us regime. thank you very much for joining us with — regime. thank you very much for joining us with your— joining us with your reflections about this momentous moment here in syria. watched so closely by so many around the world. i am sure that our viewers have heard that our viewers have heard that whilst we have been on air they have been sounds of fireworks exploding in the skies over damascus. what a moment it is for syrians wear for so many years, and ahead of this myself when i came back and forth to syria during the war, the only sounds of the skies with the sounds of syrian warplanes bombing in the suburbs, the sound of artillery, of rebels spouting on the outskirts of damascus, the sounds that led to the suffering of so many syrians and the destruction of so much in damascus and far beyond. the explosions you here tonight are the explosions ofjoy and what is called victory day in syria. it is b

but it collapsed under him. >> bashar al assad never expected to take over from his father. his older brother basil, was the heir apparent. instead bashar trained as an ophthalmologist in london former assad family insiders say he didn't have the right stuff to run syria through basil his brother basil bullied him as a child. >> his father never gave him as much attention as basil, but a high speed car crash killed basil and bashar was brought back home to learn the family business. >> when president hafez al assad died in 2000, syria's elite pushed bashar into the presidency, keeping 30 years of their own wealth, power, position and influence intact hafez was a leader. >> the head of the entire regime, while bashar never came close to that at first, the new president agreed to modest reforms and released hundreds of political prisoners. >> but that brief moment of optimism dubbed the damascus spring, ended abruptly a decade later, the regional upheaval known as the arab spring wouldn't be addressed as easily. protests demanding change spread across syria in early 2011. the r

you can't get much worse than bashar al-assad. what comes next?ell, it's i think, an unknown, but ultimately we do know some things about it, and we know that the leader of this movement militarily very successful as it was, still has a $10 million bounty on his head from the united states because of his earlier al qaeda affiliations. is that something you give up? is it something you mature from? well, he's suggesting that's the case, but also, jake, remember leading a military campaign, a very, very different job to governance, particularly the governance of a country that's been so heavily damaged and torn by sectarian violence as indeed, syria has. so a huge job, frankly, for anyone to undertake, let alone somebody who probably has minimal experience of ruling and many immediate challenges as well frankly, we have to see how syria's new neighbors respond to this sudden change in the dynamic, the disappearance of iranian power, the moscow overnight suddenly being exposed as a paper tiger. in this regard, so much more to play out, but really wit

up went the flag of the syrian rebels to mark the ousting of bashar al—assad. led to russia, although his exact whereabouts are unknown. fanfare. the man who has reportedly given assad asylum was giving out medals — to russian soldiers who'd fought in ukraine. from vladimir putin, no mention of syria. events there are a huge blow to the kremlin. that is because for nearly a decade president putin had poured resources into keeping assad in power. he became moscow's man in the middle east, shored up by russian firepower. and i'd better stop there because it's about to get very loud indeed. a few years back, we visited russia's airbase in syria, khmeimim. from here, fighterjets were conducting airstrikes on rebel positions. russian bases in syria gave it a foothold in the eastern mediterranean, but without assad, would it lose that? today, iasked president putin's spokesman what would happen to its bases. dmitri peskov told me that would be discussed with syria's new leaders. losing its staunchest ally in the middle east, that is painfulfor the kremlin. vladimir pu

this was damascus as crowds continue celebrating the fall of bashar al assad. in the cold light of day, when the celebrations go quiet — how will the country emerge from the shadow of a 50—year mohammad al—jolani, the rebel leader who masterminded the lightening offensive has met the former prime minister to coordinate the transfer of power. but that victory comes with caveats. the un — which is holding an emergency meeting on the situation — has warned the next few weeks are critical. but first — the view from the ground inside syria. translation: we are very happy after the fall of bashar al assad. may god rid us of him forever. i'm not afraid to say it. we're very happy and we are working without fear and with a good conscience. we are living now the second independence and the date of the 8th of december will be immortal. this great and glorious day is a new independence day of syria. this is the first time in my entire life - that i can stand - here in this square. i'm 60 years old and this is. the first time i've stood here. people are getting - delirious