Russia has granted the family asylum on “humanitarian grounds”, the Interfax, TASS and Ria Novosti news agencies reported on Sunday, quoting the unnamed source.

Al-Assad’s whereabouts were unknown after armed opposition fighters captured Damascus in the early hours of Sunday morning, declaring that his government had been toppled. The advance came less than two weeks into the opposition’s lightning offensive.

“Right now we see that a number of sources, including the BBC’s Russian service, for instance, have reported that al-Assad could possibly have been evacuated by a Russian plane from a Russian air base in Latakia, Syria that took off several hours ago with its transponders turned off,” Al Jazeera said from Russia’s capital Moscow.

Speaking at the White House, US President Joe Biden stated that he was not sure where al-Assad was, but that “there is word he is in Moscow”.

“The fall of the regime is a fundamental act of justice. It’s a moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria to build a better future for their proud country,” Biden also said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry had said earlier on Sunday that al-Assad had resigned and left Syria.Crowds ransacked the deposed leader’s opulent home after the opposition forces declared he had fled.

Residents in the capital were seen cheering in the streets shortly after rebel factions declared “the city of Damascus free”.

Meanwhile, Russian news agencies also reported that Syrian opposition leaders have guaranteed the safety of Russian military bases and diplomatic missions inside Syria.

“Russian officials are in contact with representatives of the armed Syrian opposition, whose leaders have guaranteed the safety of Russian military bases and diplomatic institutions on the territory of Syria,” TASS reported, citing a Kremlin source.

That is despite Russia having been an active participant in Syria’s war, supporting al-Assad and carrying out repeated bombing raids on opposition areas, resulting in the deaths of civilians. Russian support reversed the tide of the war in 2015, when opposition fighters were threatening Damascus. Instead, al-Assad was able to push the opposition to enclaves in the north of the country, until the rapid rebel advance that began in late November.

The events of Sunday came after 13 years of war, which also put an end to more than half a century of the al-Assad family’s rule.

The Syrian war started as a largely unarmed uprising against al-Assad in March 2011, which eventually became an all-out war that dragged in foreign powers, killed hundreds of thousands of people and turned millions into refugees across the world.

PIJ: Israel ‘exploiting’ Syria situation to expand occupation

The  Palestinian Islamic Jihad says Israel’s move to capture the buffer zone in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights was proof of the “expansion of its occupation on Syrian lands”, and showed that it is “the real enemy of the peoples of our nation”.

“The Israeli aggression is a blatant assault on the Syrian people and their will, and an exploitation of the situation for expansionist goals,” the group added.

Syrians in Kuala Lumpur celebrate fall of al-Assad

In front of the Syrian Embassy in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, several people celebrated the opposition’s capture of Damascus and the fall of the al-Assad government.

A convoy of cars has driven around various streets of the city, with opposition flags, chanting for Syria and its people.

Earlier, the Syrian opposition flag was raised on the embassy’s mast, and people distributed sweets in celebration of al-Assad’s ousting.

Syrian embassies worldwide change their social media photos after fall of al-Assad

Several Syrian embassies around the world changed their official social media profile pictures to the flag of the Syrian revolution after the announcement of the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the opposition’s taking of control over the capital, Damascus.

The embassies include Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Jakarta, Indonesia and Cairo, Egypt and others.

Some Syrian embassies also republished a statement from the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which said “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates in the Syrian Arab Republic and its diplomatic missions abroad will continue to serve all citizens, managing their affairs, based on the trust it holds in representing the Syrian people, and that the homeland remains the highest.”

Iranian FM: ‘Assurances’ given that holy sites, embassy in Syria will be protected

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that the country has spoken with “various parties” about “the security of our embassy and our consulate in Aleppo, as well as the safety of the holy shrines of Zainab and Ruqayyah”, in Syria.

“We have been given assurances that the sanctity of these sites will be preserved and that the respect for our embassy will also be upheld”, he said, during a televised interview.

“Unfortunately, early this morning, there was an intrusion into our embassy. However, the scenes indicate that it was not an organized or armed intrusion, based on the footage we reviewed, it appears that some of those involved were ordinary people”, he added.

Iran’s Abbas Araghchi on fall of al-Assad regime

We have more for you from the Iranian foreign minister, from the televised interview he gave this evening on developments in Syria:

• During recent discussions with Bashar al-Assad, Iran raised numerous recommendations regarding the Syrian army.
• Iran emphasised the need to boost the army’s morale and suggested measures to achieve this. However, this responsibility primarily rested with President al-Assad to strengthen the motivation and morale of the army, while Iran provided assistance to the best of its ability.
• Another important issue was fostering greater interaction between the Syrian government and its people. Ultimately, the key to sustaining governments lies in public support.
• Iran also has a specific concern regarding the opportunistic behaviour of the Zionist [Israeli] regime. As of last night, there have been some movements suggesting an attempt to reclaim areas in the Golan Heights.
• Araghchi issues a serious warning regarding these developments, and is also aware that resistance groups in the region are closely monitoring these actions by the Zionist regime.

In a statement broadcast live on Syrian national television on Sunday, a group of fighters said the “tyrant al-Assad has been toppled” and that all prisoners have been freed from a major prison facility in Damascus.

The city of Damascus has been liberated. The tyrant Bashar al-Assad has been toppled. All the prisoners have been released from the prison of Damascus,” a leader of the group said.

“We wish all our fighters and citizens preserve and maintain the property of the state of Syria. Long live Syria,” he added.

The opposition said al-Assad, whose family ruled Syria for more than 50 years, had fled the capital. His whereabouts remain unknown.In a video statement, Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said the government was ready to “extend its hand” to the opposition and turn its functions over to a transitional government.

“I am in my house and I have not left, and this is because of my belonging to this country,” al-Jalili said in a video statement. He said he would go to his office to continue work in the morning and called on Syrian citizens not to deface public property.

At the same time, Abu Mohamed al-Julani, head of the main fighting group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has ordered opposition fighters to not attack any public institutions and services.

There is footage captured showing the opposition fighters entering the presidential palace in Damascus. Videos posted online also showed residents taking down images of the president.

“The fall of the Assad regime is the end of an era in the Middle East, and it will have big news implications across the region,” said Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh.

The armed opposition also shared a video that it says was taken by its fighters from the strategic Mezzeh airbase in Damascus. The site played a crucial role in launching government rocket attacks and air raids against opposition-held territory.

Earlier on Sunday, fighters entered the heart of the capital, announcing a “new era” free of revenge and inviting Syrians overseas to return. Opposition forces had already seized the cities of Aleppo and Hama, as well as large parts of the south, in a lightning offensive that began on November 27.

Hadi al-Bahra, who heads the Syrian political opposition coalition overseas, declared Damascus “free of al-Assad” and congratulated the Syrian people.

Fighters released the prisoners held in Sednaya Prison north of Damascus, as they have done in other cities they took during their advance.

Witnesses reported jubilation in the capital, with chants of “Freedom! Freedom!” heard in a main square.Omar Horanieh, a resident of the capital said that before opposition fighters entered the city, he heard loud blasts and sounds of shooting.

He said once the fighters entered the city, “everyone was shouting God is the greatest”.

Celebrations were also reported in the city of Latakia as well as along the border with Lebanon.

Meanwhile, in the opposition stronghold of Aleppo, residents toppled a statue of the former president, late Hafez al-Assad, father of Bashar al-Assad.

The Syrian opposition groups’ Administration of Military Affairs also said its forces are advancing in the western Deir Az Zor countryside.

The Syrian war started as a largely unarmed uprising against al-Assad in March 2011, but morphed into a full-blown war that dragged in foreign powers, killed hundreds of thousands of people and turned millions into refugees.

James Dorsey, a Middle East specialist, said the Syrian military’s collapse was “always a question of when, not if”.

“It simply shows us how on brittle the support for al-Assad regime’s was, and also how brittle Syrian military was,” he said.

“If you don’t have a national military on the ground to defend the regime, then there’s really very little that the Iranians or the Russians could have done, short of virtually occupying the country,” he said, referring to Assad’s main backers.

Dorsey said al-Assad framed the war as one against “terrorists” and “systematically sabotaged any attempt to have a peaceful process in which there would be reform of the Syrian political system.

“People were forced into the military and often not paid properly and not compensated properly. So the fact that they would ultimately jump ship or not put their lives on the on line for a regime that wasn’t catering to their needs is not really a surprise.”

“They will not be able to achieve their goals despite what they have done in past days, and we as Hezbollah will be by Syria’s side in thwarting the goals of this aggression as much as we can,” Qassem said on Thursday, adding that the “aggression” is sponsored by the United States and Israel.

His comments came hours after Syrian opposition forces captured the strategic city of Homs in central Syria, their latest victory in a lightning offensive that was launched eight days ago.

Qassem did not give details of how Hezbollah would support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but said the Iran-aligned group would do what it could.

Hezbollah is currently observing a fragile, US-brokered ceasefire agreement with Israel, after a year of war that has brought much devastation to Lebanon’s south in particular.

Many of the group’s leadership have been killed in Israeli attacks, while tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians have been driven from their homes.

Civilians have also borne the brunt of Syria’s 13-year-long war, which had been largely frozen since 2020 until opposition forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaeda affiliate, launched a new offensive from their strongholds in northwest Syria last week.

Over the weekend the rebels captured Aleppo, the country’s second largest city, before pushing south and entering Hama on Thursday.

More than 280,000 people have been displaced by the recent fighting, the United Nations World Food Programme said in a post on X.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an end to the fighting and said the escalating conflict in Syria is the result of a “chronic collective failure” of diplomacy.

Guterres called for immediate humanitarian access to all civilians in need in Syria and a return to a UN-facilitated political process to end the bloodshed.

“Tens of thousands of civilians are at risk in a region already on fire,” Guterres told reporters.

“We are seeing the bitter fruits of a chronic collective failure of previous de-escalation arrangements to produce a genuine nationwide ceasefire or a serious political process to implement Security Council resolutions,” he said.

He urged “all those with influence to do their part for the long-suffering people” of Syria and said all parties are obligated to protect civilians.

While al-Assad relied heavily on Russian and Iranian backing throughout the most intense years of Syria’s war, some opposition groups established ties with Turkiye.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday called on al-Assad to urgently find a “political solution” to the war.

“The Syrian regime must commit urgently with its people in favour of a global political solution,” Erdogan said in a call with Guterres, according to a statement released by the presidency.

Erdogan, whose country has become home to about three million Syrian refugees since the war started in 2011, has held several discussions with other leaders on the crisis in recent days.

“Turkiye has been striving to reduce tensions, protect civilians and open a political process and will continue to do so,” Erdogan was quoted as saying in the statement.

Highlighting that the conflict has reached a “new stage”, Erdogan said, “Turkiye’s biggest wish is that Syria does not become embroiled in bigger instability and see even more civilian victims.”

Erdogan was an outspoken critic of al-Assad for much of the war but has recently taken a more conciliatory line.