Assad granted asylum in Moscow on ‘humanitarian’ grounds – as world leaders hail end of ‘barbaric’ regime
Syria’s ousted President Bashar al Assad has arrived in Moscow, Russian state media has confirmed.
Mr Assad and members of his family arrived in the city on Sunday, a Kremlin source told the TASS news agency.
The source added: “Russia, for humanitarian reasons, has granted them asylum.”
Read more: Latest updates from Syria
Mr Assad’s location was confirmed as Russian news agencies said Moscow had struck a deal with Syrian opposition leaders. A source said the rebels have guaranteed the safety of Russian military bases and diplomatic institutions in Syria.
Mr Assad left the Syrian capital of Damascus after his government fell following a lightning offensive by anti-regime forces across the country – bringing his 24-year rule to an end.
His whereabouts, as well as those of his wife Asma and their two children, were initially unknown. Russia said Mr Assad had left Syria after negotiations with the rebel groups.
As the former president fled, footage on social media showed families gleefully ransacking presidential palaces in Damascus, with some taking selfies in the grand settings, as thousands celebrated in the streets.
A group of people taking a selfie in a presidential palace in Damascus, Syria. Pic: AP
A Syrian opposition fighter sits inside an office at the Presidential Palace. Pic: AP
People also entered a building near the Damascus palaces, which housed luxury cars thought to belong to the former president.
In videos shared online, people could be seen driving in around inside a garage, past rows of red sports cars and huge 4x4s.
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People enter Syrian presidential palace
Thousands of Syrians, in cars and on foot, also gathered in a main square in the Damascus chanting for freedom.
In the key city of Homs – which rebel fighters seized after just a day of fighting – thousands more filled the streets after the army withdrew, dancing and chanting “Assad is gone, Homs is free”, and “Long live Syria and down with Bashar al Assad”.
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People ride Assad statue through streets
The country’s international airport in Damascus was abandoned, and rebels said they had entered the notorious Saydnaya military prison north of the capital, where human rights groups say thousands of Syrians have been tortured and killed by the Assad regime.
A video circulating online purported to show rebels breaking open cells and freeing dozens of female prisoners, who looked shocked and confused. At least one small child could be seen among them.
Celebratory scenes have also broken out in other countries around the world, with Syrians gathering to mark the historic occasion in cities such as Madrid, Manchester and Tripoli, in northern Lebanon.
The fall of Mr Assad’s regime marks a turning point for Syria after 13 years of civil conflict. It had faced a battle on three fronts – Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) from the north, the Southern Front, and a Kurdish group in the east.
HTS is a Sunni Islamist militant faction, once known as the Nusra Front, which had links to al Qaeda.
It has long been designated a terrorist group by the US. In 2016, it cut its ties with al Qaeda amid an effort to appear moderate.
File pic: AP
A man walks past a broken portrait of the late Syrian President Hafez Assad in the ransacked residence. Pic: AP
Syrian rebels, made up of the various opposition groups, said they were working to transition power to a new governing body with full executive powers.
“The great Syrian revolution has moved from the stage of struggle to overthrow the Assad regime to the struggle to build a Syria together that befits the sacrifices of its people,” the coalition said in a statement, describing events as a new birth for “great Syria”.
Read more:
How the rebel assault unfolded
Who are the Syrian rebels – and what are their plans?
HTS leader Abu Mohammed al Jolani, who led the insurgency, declared “the future is ours” in a statement read out on Syrian state TV.
He said there was “no room for turning back” and his group was “determined” to continue on the path it started in 2011.
Abu Mohammad al Jolani speaking at the Great Umayyad Mosque in Damascus
Addressing a crowd inside the sprawling Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, he later described the fall of Assad as a “victory to the Islamic nation”.
“A new history, my brothers, is being written in the entire region after this great victory,” he added.
World leaders react to President Assad’s fall
Russia – which, alongside Iran, helped prop up the Assad regime – has requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the situation in Syria, a Kremlin official posted on Telegram.
Elsewhere, US President Joe Biden labelled Mr Assad’s fall a “fundamental act of justice” but also “a moment of risk”, and Sir Keir Starmer called for all sides to protect civilians and ensure aid reaches the vulnerable.
“The developments in Syria in recent hours and days are unprecedented, and we are speaking to our partners in the region and monitoring the situation closely,” the British PM said.
“The Syrian people have suffered under Assad’s barbaric regime for too long and we welcome his departure. Our focus is now on ensuring a political solution prevails and peace and stability is restored.”
Sir Keir was due to go on to hold talks with leaders in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
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Syrian refugees ‘can’t wait to go back home’
US president-elect Donald Trump said the States should not get involved in the conflict as Syria “is not our friend” in a post on Truth Social.
In a fresh update on Sunday morning – before it was confirmed Mr Assad had been given asylum in Moscow – he added: “Assad is gone. He has fled his country. His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by [Russian President] Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer.
“Russia and Iran are in a weakened state right now, one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, the other because of Israel and its fighting success.”
People step on the Syrian government’s flag outside the Syrian embassy in Madrid. Pic: Reuters
Israeli airstrikes hit Damascus, according to reports
Israel has conducted three airstrikes against a major security complex in Damascus, two regional security sources have told Reuters.
The IDF has also targeted a research centre in the Syrian capital, they said. According to Israel, the centre was used by Iranian scientists to develop missiles.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had hailed the ousting of Mr Assad as a “historic day”.
On a visit to the area near the border with Syria, he said he had ordered Israeli forces to seize a buffer zone in the Golan Heights, adding: “We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border.”
Read more:
The power dynamics of this volatile region will utterly change
How an eye doctor became a brutal dictator
Mr Netanyahu said this was necessary to “ensure the protection of all Israeli communities in the Golan Heights” after Syrian soldiers abandoned their positions there.
The Golan area was captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, and later annexed. The international community, except the US, views it as occupied territory.
World
US blocks Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials from United Nations’ annual meeting in New York
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials have been blocked from attending September’s annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has revoked the US visas of delegates from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and denied others from applying for one.
It is the latest step by Donald Trump’s administration to target Palestinians with visa restrictions, and follows the suspension of a programme to allow injured children from Gaza to receive treatment in the US.
Mahmoud Abbas addressed the general assembly in 2024, but is barred from next month’s meeting. Pic: Reuters
“It is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” a statement from the US State Department said.
It added that, to be considered partners for peace, both groups “must consistently repudiate terrorism, and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by US law and as promised by the PLO”.
Offensive will cause ‘intolerable deaths’
Several US allies, including France, Malta, and Australia have announced plans to recognise Palestine as a state at September’s United Nations General Assembly. Canada and the UK will too, unless Israel meets certain conditions.
Israel declared Gaza’s largest city a dangerous combat zone on Friday.
The army launched a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation.
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Thick smoke rises from Gaza City after Israeli strikes
Foreign ministers from Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia and Spain released a joint statement saying the military operations in Gaza City will cause “intolerable deaths of innocent Palestinian civilians”.
Gaza latest: Israel’s Gaza City offensive condemned
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering in Gaza City while enduring famine.
An Israeli armoured vehicle in northern Gaza on Friday. Pic: AP
Palestinians ride a truck carrying humanitarian aid in Gaza City. Pic: AP
The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Riyad Mansour, said Mr Abbas had planned to lead the delegation to the UN meetings and was expected to address the general assembly at the general debate, which begins on 23 September.
He was also expected to attend a high-level meeting co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on 22 September about a two-state solution, a broad idea involving Israel coexisting with an independent Palestinian state.
The State of Palestine is an observer member of the UN, meaning it can speak at meetings but not vote on resolutions.
The State of Palestine cannot vote on UN resolutions. Pic: AP
US decision ‘contravenes international law’
The Palestinian Authority “expressed its deep regret and astonishment” at the visa decision, calling it “a violation of US commitments” as the host of the UN, and claiming it “contravenes international law”.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the world body would be seeking clarification in the “hope that this will be resolved”.
Hundreds of diplomats left when Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu began speaking at the general assembly in 2024. Pic: Reuters
The State Department said that the Palestinian Authority’s mission to the UN, comprising officials who are permanently based there, would not be included in the restrictions.
Under a 1947 UN agreement, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York.
But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.
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The death toll in Gaza has now risen to 63,025, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
It also reported five more malnutrition-related deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number during the war to 322, with 121 of them children.
World
Brazil implores businesses to attend major climate summit, despite ‘second thoughts’ amid Trump backlash
The Brazilian hosts of the biggest climate meeting of the year have implored businesses to attend in November, amid concerns some are backing away from the climate agenda into the shadow of Donald Trump.
In an interview with Sky News, Ana Toni, chief executive of the COP30 climate summit in November, admitted some companies were having “second thoughts” about the global switch to green economies because policymakers were creating uncertainty.
The US President Donald Trump has been attacking wind farms and waging tariff wars that could slow the transition to green energy.
Banks including HSBC and Barclays have ditched a net zero alliance set up just four years ago by Mark Carney, now the Canadian Prime Minister.
Ana Toni, Brazil’s climate secretary, is chief executive of the COP30 climate talks. Pic: Reuters
But even before Trump took office, tech companies were quietly dropping climate targets to prioritise energy-hungry AI, and other businesses were “greenhushing” their climate initiatives for fear of backlash.
In this environment, there are fears fewer business leaders will attend the annual talks, which are also being hosted in a city on the edge of the Amazon that hasn’t enough hotel rooms.
On Friday, the COP30 team wrote to business leaders urging them to “step forward, not back” and travel to Belem, despite “logistical challenges” and the “background of systemic uncertainty”.
Ana Toni told Sky News: “We are very concerned that the enabling conditions must be there so that the private sector can also deliver where they do best, which is bringing in technology, bringing innovation and accelerating the process of decarbonisation.”
In August the share price of Danish wind farm developer plummeted after the US halted its Rhode Island wind farm, while the British Tories and Reform parties are also attacking net zero.
Ana Toni met with King Charles and leaders of other COP summits at Clarence House last year. Pic: Reuters
But Ms Toni there is “nothing to panic [about], because we can see that the transition is inevitable,” citing major progress in China, India and Europe and Brazil.
Referring to the US’s withdrawal from the COP process, she said: “198 countries minus one is not zero. And we will put all our efforts of working with the 197 countries that want to go forward and want to protect their population.”
“Climate action is not only [still] cool, it is necessary,” Ms Toni said.
“We all need to face reality. We are going through a huge climate crisis… If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. Companies understand that.”
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