mentioned earlier how rescue workers have ended their search for detainees in secret cells at saydnaya military prisonfinding anyone. specialised teams — assisted by dog units — had been combing the prison as crowds gathered in the hope of finding their missing relatives. most of those who disappeared into assad's prisons remain missing. they are lawyers, human rights defenders, key witnesses and others who dared to challenge assad's rule. the syrian network for human rights estimates that the regime has detained approximately one hundred and thirty six thousand people. of those, an estimated 96,000 are believed to have been forcibly disappeared. that leaves around 40,000 individuals who were officially detained. most of them have since been released. but the fate of the 96,000 forcibly disappeared remains largely unknown, and they constitute most unresolved cases. let's speak to the director of the syrian network for human rights, fadel abdul ghany. his team produced those statistics, and he's been monitoring the fate of detained people in syria since the start of the civil war. we are so pleased to

rebels also say they have entered the notorious saydnaya military prison north of the capital and freedprisoners there. well, let's bring in our correspondent , martha kellner. hello, my appeared as we have spoken over the last couple hours, things have certainly developed very quickly. bring us up to date with the latest developments. >> reporter: yeah, we are seeing sending pictures out of the syrian capital of damascus, truly momentous events. it seems like we are on the brink now of witnessing the fall of a brutal regime that has lasted for more than half a century, 24 years under the current president, bashar al- assad, and three decades before that under his father. that regime , which has taken thousands upon thousands of lives, including over the past 13 years, of civil war, appears to be coming to an end today. the latest we have is those syrian rebel forces are now in the very heart of damascus, the speed of their advance has taken almost everyone within the international community by surprise. it is less than two weeks since this current offensive began, just over a week ago,

this appears to show prisoners leaving the saydnaya military prison. rebel commanders have warned people not to harm them. syria's prime minister has stayed in damascus, and has offered the rebels a peaceful transition of power. transition . >> translator: this country can be a normal country, a country that builds good relations with its neighbors and with the world. that entry into any regional alliances, we will lead any new leadership chosen by the syrian people and we're ready to cooperate with any new leadership and facilitate what they need so that there government departments can be transferred smoothly and systematically in a way that preserves the state's facilities. >> reporter: rebels only reached the outskirts of damascus yesterday afternoon. this happened a few miles from the center of the syrian capital. 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 momen

much of the early reporting byjournalists in syria has focused on the notorious military prison near damascus, saydnayamund bower is a freelance journalist who's reporting from syria for the times, and he's been inside that prison. i mean, the process of gaining access is pretty much as simple as walking in. um... no place that i've been to in the region, until now, have we been given such unfettered access to potentially sensitive sites, especially considering that this was a prison that for so long was only known to the... ..the guards and those who were unlucky enough to end up there. but thousands of people have been through in the last few days, including, iwould say at least dozens, maybe hundreds ofjournalists. i think we were, um, basically working towards, in a sense, the same goal, i think, of the thousands of people who went up to the prison from damascus and from other parts of the country. everyone i spoke to, at least, was searching for loved ones. these were people who had theirfamily members, had their children arrested and didn't know where they were. so much, much as we were, they wer

say they have ended their search for possible detainees in secret cells or basements at saydnaya military prisonng anyone. specialised teams, assisted by dog units and individuals familiar with the layout, had been combing the prison as crowds gathered in the hope of finding their missing relatives. speaking at a news conference, the un special envoy for syria, geir otto pedersen has said the rebel groups are so far "sending good messages" to the syrian people and are also co—ordinating well. for co—ordinating well. now, much of what some call rebel for now, much of what some call rebel —controlled syria is under what i would call a patchwork of groups, who are coordinating well for now, but they are not fully or formally united. it is important that we don't see conflict between these groups. let me also say that, by and large, we have seen reassuring statements from the different armed groups, but there are still some issues of law and order. syrians in lebanon continue to return home after the dramatic fall of al—assad's government. these are the latest pictures from damascus where banks are