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

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

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 for the syrian dictator after a 14 year war, one that has remained relatively stagnant up until this last week. now, u.s. officials

shot shortly after they took control of the city and in this video, you see prime minister mohammed ghazi al jalalibeing escorted by rebels in damascus on sunday apparently to hand over government authority and here you see why the rebels are calling the shots. now. they control a large section of the country. the green on the map. government forces are said to be in control of the areas in red. well, joining us now out of doha is firas mark zandi is the director of strategic outreach and a senior fellow for the middle east institute. it's good to have you, firas you're a regular guest on this show and as you consider what we have witnessed over the past 24 hours, your assessment of what is going on on the ground and why this is so historic becky, this is a momentous moment, not just for the syrian people, but for the people of the middle east, lebanese palestinians, syrians or otherwise. >> what happens in syria doesn't stay in syria. this is a regime that for over 50 years, under the mantra of freedom, unity and socialism, oppressed tortured and disappeared many millions in syria, half a million

consolidating into the hands of abu mohammed al—jolani, the islamist rebel leader widely seen as the mastermind of assad's downfall. on monday, he met mohammad ghazi al—jalaliho was bashar al—assad's prime minister until last weekend. he has now been replaced, but says he will still help with a smooth transition of power. aru na ayengar reports. scenes of joy as scenes ofjoy as syrians pour into the capital damascus for a second day. women, children and familiesjoined with second day. women, children and families joined with rebel soldiers to celebrate freedom from the regime of former president bashar al—assad. seven communities around the world celebrating, viz the ecstatic crowds in london. look how happy _ ecstatic crowds in london. look how happy they _ ecstatic crowds in london. look how happy they are. _ ecstatic crowds in london. look how happy they are. now- ecstatic crowds in london. ii_f7f7< how happy they are. now we should be able to go back home, see ourfamilies, visit should be able to go back home, see our families, visit the graves of our loved ones that were murdered by assad and then hopefully we will be able to build a better and brighte