president assad's prime minister, mohammed ghazi al—jalali, says he's assisting with the transfer of say their forces have established order over almost all of damascus, with fighters occupying public buildings. syrians have been pouring back into the country in their thousands from neighbouring lebanon and jordan where many had been exiled. some are making short trips to check the situation in their villages, but lebanon has made it harderfor syrian nationals to re—enter. we start our programme with this report from our correspondent in damascus. this is how bashar al—assad left the syrians, thousands of them here in saydnaya prison, one of the worst in the middle east, notjust in syria, are looking for their beloved ones. they don't know if they are still alive or killed in torture or hunger. translation: my son, - son in law and my sisters have been detained for ten years and we do not know anything. they believe that there is a secret entrance through the kitchen to some place with a hidden door, but they don't know where it is. they don't have any idea how to get in there. trans

. >>> mohammad ghazi al jalali has been speaking this morning. let's listen to what he had to say. >> translator: this country can be a ormal country, a country that builds good relations with its neighbors and with the word. without entry into any regional alliances. we're ready to cooperate with any new leadership and facilitate what they need so that there is government departments that can be transferred smoothly and systematically in a way that preserves the state facilities. >> security and defense editor deborah haines has the latest on the impact on the region. >> iran and russia were both absolutely instrumental in propping up the assad regime from 2011 when you'll remember the uprising, a peaceful uprising first began inside syria, calling for change, calling for an end to a regime that had ruled with such brutality for so long. even back then, it was part of the wider arab spring that started in tunisia. you saw it moving into egypt. and it exploded across libya and also in syria and yet in response to the uprising in syria, the assad

in this video, you see prime minister mohammed al jalali being escorted by rebels in damascus.rportedly took him to a hotel to hand over government authority. while people are celebrating in the streets, some carrying huge rebel flags. the rebels actively searching for assad, they say, who has not been seen or heard from for some days. well, a source tells cnn that the rebels are questioning syrian military officers and intelligence officials who may have knowledge about assad's movements. well, joining us now from new york is michael weiss. he is the coauthor of isis inside the army of terror. he is also the editor for the insider. it's good to have you. and let's just get your perspective of what we are seeing on the ground there. there is a significant member. we are not looking at one sort of opposition, one rebel group here. there is a you know, there are moving parts and those parts continue to move. your assessment of what we are seeing on the ground before we talk about how the biden administration might be gaming this out at this point. >> sure. thanks for having me, b

long live free syria well, you see in this video the prime minister, mohamed al jalali, being escorted by rebels in damascus slightly earlier this morning. >> they purportedly took him to a hotel so that he could hand over government authority to well, rebels seen celebrating in the grounds of the syrian presidential palace. this morning as well. and they say they are searching for president assad, who has not been seen or heard from in days. well, let's remind ourselves that rebels have been sweeping through the country of syria since launching what was this lightning offensive last week? they captured four cities in one day before reaching the capital, damascus. they're in the south. new video shows the rebel flag raised over damascus hospital and military uniforms littering the streets iran's embassy in the city also stormed during the takeover, according to iranian state media. we'll be back with me now is cnn's paula hancocks, who is monitoring the situation from here in abu dhabi it is 1:00 in the afternoon and sunday. the 9th of december. am i right in saying that i think it is

the country's prime minister, mohammad ghazi al—jalali, filmed a video statement in the past hour sayingwork with the opposition to facilitate a transition of power. despite the opposition�*s claims, it's not been confirmed that mr assad has fled syria. residents in the city say they are hearing gunfire and heavy fighting. opposition forces rapidly moved south towards damascus from aleppo and the key strategic crossroads of homs. the head of the rebel advance has said his forces have taken full control of homs in the last few hours. other opposition factions are converging on the capital from the south, having taken control of daraa province. there had been signs all saturday the government's control over damascus was slipping: this footage from the suburbs shows protesters toppling a statue of assad's late father, who founded the ruling dynasty. a few hours ago, our security correspondent, frank gardner, filed this report. they think they've won already. these are syrian rebels in the south of the country, in daraa, part of a pincer movement that is closing in on the capital, damascus.

>> we're following breaking news in syria where prime minister of the country, mohammad ghazi al-jalali, says the government stands ready to, quote, cooperate with any leadership. the people choose. his comments come as rebel forces have declared damascus free, claiming president bashar al-assad has fled the capital. a source tells cnn that the syrian military there has fallen, as video shows, some soldiers fleeing damascus. rebel fighters say as well they're planning to take over state media offices to broadcast their victory over assad, adding that some senior regime officials are preparing to defect in the capital. and we're also hearing from some united states officials that president biden and his team are closely monitoring the extraordinary events in syria and staying in constant touch with our regional partners. we're going to have much more on this breaking news as these developments come in, but we want to update you on a few other stories that we're following right now as well. authorities are bracing for another day in the manhunt for the shooter or the shooter. excuse me of

yes, this leader, al jalali is saying what he wants the international community to hear, he is promisingd institutions but do the people year talking to believe that or are they concerned this could go like afghanistan and kabul? >> reporter: they are absolutely concerned over that. that is something elissa slotkin who has a background in intelligence, who spent many years before she became a member of the house and now a sender. that is the point she is making. on the other side of the aisle, that's something we heard from senator lindsey graham. your point about what happened under the obama administration and now under the biden administration, that is something republican allies of trump are also taking advantage of, right? graham finished his statement basically saying now trump has to come in and play clean-up, suggesting that somehow, although the obama and biden administrations may have led to this happening, again, there are some positive, some silver linings to take of this. but because so much is unknown of who this group is now, what their plan is going forward, there is, of

long live free syria and as you will see in this next video, prime minister mohammed al jalali escorted by rebels in damascus earlier today, they purportedly took him to a hotel to hand over government authority while the rebels are seen celebrating on the grounds of the syrian presidential palace earlier and they say they are searching for assad, who has not been seen or heard from for some days. >> rebels have been sweeping through the country since launching this offensive last week. they claimed to have captured four cities in one day before reaching the capital. well, new video shows the rebel flag raised over damascus hospital and military uniforms littering the street. us president joe biden and his team say they are closely monitoring the situation and staying in contact with regional partners, while cnn chief international anchor christiane amanpour joins us now from doha. and, christiane, what do you make of what is unfolding, the significance both for syria and syrians, of course. and for the wider region well becky, obviously, like everyone here at doha, a meeting of regiona

president assad's prime minister, mohammed ghazi al—jalali, says he's assisting with the transfer ofay their forces have established order over almost all of damascus, with fighters occupying public buildings. syrians have been pouring back into the country in their thousands from neighbouring lebanon and jordan where many had been exiled. some are making short trips to check the situation in their villages, but lebanon has made it harderfor syrian nationals to re—enter. rescuers from the white helmets civil defence group are searching for hidden underground floors at sudnaya prison where opponents of president assad were tortured and killed. fighters freed more than 3,500 prisoners at the notorious site on sunday. but it's thought some secretly detained people may still be there. ourfirst report this hour is from our middle east correspondent, hugo bachega. the rebels got rid of the regime but now it is time to free the people who had been detained by them. this is the prison near damascus, nicknamed human slaughterhouse. that is what people were tortured and murdered. fighters arri

prime minister mohammad ghazi al-jalali has been speaking this morning. he says i am here in my home, i have not lifted and i do not intend to leave except in a peaceful manner that ensures the continued functioning of public institutions and state facilities, promoting security and assurance for our fellow citizens. he goes on to say i hope everyone will think rationally and consider their country. we extend our hand even to the opponents who have reached out and affirmed that they have not harmed any individual belonging to this syrian homeland. he goes on to say we believe that syrian -- syria belongs to all syrians and that all of its citizens in this country can be a normal state, one that builds good relations since -- with its neighbors without entering into alliances or blocks. this matter is left to any leadership chosen by the syrian people and we are ready to cooperate with them by providing all possible facilitation. joining me now from georgia, sonny mohammed, head of political risk at the international interest. great to have you with us. a

the change in the situation is a statement we had from the syrian prime minister, mohammed gaza al jalali, and he has said that he is ready to cooperate with any leadership. the people choose, saying that he would do everything that he can to try and make sure that this is a smooth transition so effectively an olive branch to the rebels and acceptance that the regime of bashar al assad has, has fallen. also calling on syrians to protect public facilities and saying to military forces, do not enter any of these, these public facilities or any of the institutions and also saying it's forbidden to to fire bullets into the air so there's some attempt by the prime minister there to to try and ensure that this could be a smooth transition himself, saying that i am at home, i will not be leaving home except in a peaceful manner. so we will have to see how that unfolds. when the rebel forces entered damascus we did have some reports of clashes, but not many, and it appears that there are many reports that the military did disband and did move to out of the the city itself. so it is an uncertain t

prime minister mohammad ghazi al-jalali said in a statement, i am here in my home, i have not left itful manner that ensures the continued functioning of public institutions and state facilities, promoting security and reassurance for our fellow citizens. i hope everyone will think rationally and consider their country. we extend our hand, even to the opponents, who have reached out and affirmed that they have not harmed any individual belonging to the syrian homeland. we believe that syria belongs to all syrians and to all its citizens, and that this country can be a normal state, one that builds good relations with its neighbors without entering into any regional alliances or blocks. this matter is left to any leadership chosen by the syrian people, and we are ready to cooperate with them by providing all possible facilitation. those are the latest scenes we are getting from central damascus, of people there chanting and cheering, moving gunshots into the air, as we have heard, two senior syrian officers have informed the news agency that president bashar al- assad has left damascus

i would also say while mohammad ghazi al jalali seems to have reinvented himself, there's bad individualsit is no longer affiliated with al qaeda but there are members of the turkish and islamic party, rebels and insurgents and terrorists from central asia, and this is part and parcel of this kind of quote unquote rebel group work this is all going to have to be sorted out as united states figures out how they deal with damascus going forward. >> amon, we have been focusing on syria moving forward and that makes sense at this moment. with respect to bashar al assad, where do you think the priority is in terms of apprehending him and trying to hold him to account for the various war crimes he has been charged with? he's been accused of abusing chemical weapons, on civilian. how much of that should be a concern right now and quite frankly, who leads the effort? >> you know, that is such a good question and again, you can look at the history of some of these arab states that have gone through similar days. you got tunisia, libya, egypt and lebanon. the president of tunisia bled and died in e

and its leader, jeff zeleny how they are executing this this takeover escorting the prime minister jalali out of the government building into a hotel? jelani who's head of this group, who, uh posted on telegram, don't fire off your weapons into the air. do not approach government buildings the message to not just the people of syria, but to the global community what's your take on how they're doing it um, so far, so good we had indirect contact with his movement uh, when i was in government we couldn't deal directly with them because they're on the terrorism list. >> but syria is a very messy country. a lot of people are considered terrorists by a lot of other people. we saw him as a bulwark against assad two administrations, the trump administration, and then the biden administration worked with all these factions to freeze the conflict and stop iran assad and russia from taking over the country that worked until last week. and then the country started collapsing again. that's good. jilani uh, has been relatively uh, effective in managing a significant chunk of syria in the northwest wit

conversation, of course, with the rump government in damascus under prime minister ex-prime minister jalali and various other forces are coalescing. >> they're getting a lot of external support uh, president biden just came out to underline how important this success has been for the people and for the region. >> and, uh urging that everybody work together and avoid going after each other. we have to watch this carefully, but nonetheless that is the basic worries that we always have, even when a situation turns out very well. this is good for the syrian people. it is good for the region. it is bad for russia and iran thus good for the rest of the world and the u.s. believes there are links between syria's rebel coalition and isis. >> and i know we heard from jake sullivan yesterday, we've heard from the president, one of their main concerns is making sure isis does not reestablish a foothold a stronger foothold there in syria. how does this further complicate this new government and how do you see that piece of it playing out um, it's a complication, but i would rather be dealing. >> and i

and it's also what we heard from the outgoing prime minister this is the prime minister, al jalali who was part of the assad regime. he didn't flee. he did say that he was going to to stay and support a smooth transition in government. so they're very aware, it seems that that this is one of the key elements. and i think the fact that, for example, that the employees of the central bank went back to work today just a couple of days after this dramatic fall from power by the from the assad regime, is is significant. it shows that they want to keep things running. now we're hearing from countries around the world, including the united states, that what they are hearing from the the rebels, if i can call them that at this point, is promising, but they're looking more at words, at deeds sorry, rather than words. but the fact that they are trying to put this transitional power into place, we understand that they haven't decided on a prime minister at this point, and they certainly haven't named a prime minister. but they are having these meetings between the outgoing prime minister and the

he met with the interim prime minister mohammad ghazi al—jalali and the new prime ministerfor the al—jalalinister for the transitional government. they are trying to make a peaceful transition to the new government. in make a peaceful transition to the new government. in order to make or preserve _ the new government. in order to make or preserve the _ the new government. in order to make or preserve the peace. - make or preserve the peace. they have some experience in politics where he was the head of this government, established years ago but about a year or more he was prime minister. before the minister of development and humanitarian affairs. he had a degree and has a degree in engineering and another degree in law. he has some qualifications but he was leading a government and ad lib. . it is different story. many challenges for him, who is going to use any minister from the bashar al—assad government so how can you find new names from other factions? so how can you find new names from otherfactions? it needs to be a coalition government, governments that represent all sections and fa

, he sent a 0pposition al—jalali, he sent a message to invite everyone to come to the street, he told tomorrow, we will work together —— al—joulani. this is the first day after the date of victory, the day of celebration and we will have to watch how they are entering government —— how the entering government will act today. lots of civil society are trying to engage with them but also regionally, todayjordan is hosting the foreign minister meetings with presented tips from eu, turkey and us and arab governments to discuss syria's stability and transition and we have also seen visits from us diplomats, whether the foreign secretary or defence, in the region also trying to send the same message that no—one should interfere in syria and allow syrians to lead their own peaceful transition for a government that is conclusive, representative of the whole society, rejects the rights of minorities and the rights of women so is not only the rights of women so is not only the syrians are watching, everyone is watching how the rebel led government is going to perform. lina sinjab in damascus. t

the prime minister, mohammad ghazi al—jalali, filmed a video statement in the past few hours saying hehe opposition to facilitate a transition of power. the rebel advance on damascus comes after they said they had "fully liberated" the city of homs. the rebel leader, abu mohammed al—jolani described the victory as a "historic moment". our correspondent barabara plett—usher has just managed to reached the syrian capital and sent this update. she was talking to my colleague lucy grey. iam in i am in damascus, iam in damascus, we i am in damascus, we have reached damascus, just coming into the city now. past a major army base and outside of it we saw men coming out and then walking down the road without uniform and our syrian guide said this has been going on, the soldiers are taking off their uniforms and just walking away. and in fact on the motorway you could see a or discarded clothing from the soldiers, army clothes. also tanks, military cars empty and left behind. a few people clambering over them. but mostly the rates were very quiet coming in. now that we're just driving in to dam

the country's prime minister, mohammad ghazi al—jalali, filmed a video statement in the past hour sayingwork with the opposition to facilitate a transition of power. despite the opposition�*s claims, it's not been confirmed that mr assad has fled syria. the rebel advance on damascus comes after they said they had fully liberated the city of homs. the rebel leader abu mohammed al—jolani described the victory as a historic moment. mohammad taha from bbc arabic has the latest. 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. that the syrian president, bashar al—assad, most probably has left the country and the opposition now is under control of damascus. 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 1a years while in this time there were many arab leaders who fell into what was call