The Syrian government has fallen after a lightning offensive by anti-regime forces across the country – ending President Bashar al Assad’s 24-year rule.
Mr Assad has left office and the country after giving orders for there to be a peaceful transfer of power, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
Russia was not involved in the talks surrounding his departure, the ministry said, but has been in touch with opposition groups – and urged all sides to refrain from violence.
The leader’s whereabouts now – and those of his wife Asma and their two children – remain unknown.
Footage circulating on social media as the news emerged showed families ransacking presidential palaces in Damascus, with some taking selfies in the grand settings.
Image: Bashar al Assad has left the capital Damascus, Russia says. Pic: AP/Amr Nabil
Tehran, another of Mr Assad’s allies, said it would continue to closely monitor developments in Syria and the region.
The fate of the country lies in the hands of the Syrian people and should be pursued without foreign imposition or destructive intervention, Iran’s foreign ministry said.
Syrian rebels, made up of 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”.
Later, in a post on the social media platform X, it added it aimed to build strategic partnerships within the region and the world.
Image: Syrian opposition fighters celebrate the collapse of the government in Damascus. Pic: AP
Image: Rebels burn down a military court in the capital: Pic: AP
Image: People holding a Syrian opposition flag in Damascus. Pic: Reuters
Syria’s prime minister, who remains in the country, said he was ready to co-operate and offered a peaceful transition.
“I am here in my home,” Mohammed Ghazi al Jalali said. “I have not left it and do not intend to leave, except in a peaceful manner that ensures the continued functioning of public institutions and state facilities, promoting security and reassurance for our fellow citizens.”
Thousands of Syrians, in cars and on foot, gathered in a main square in the capital Damascus chanting for freedom.
Saturday’s advances on the capital marked the first time the rebels have reached the outskirts of the city since 2018, when government forces recaptured the area after a years-long siege.
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”.
The rebels have also claimed Deir el Zor in the east, and Suweida, Quneitra and Deraa in the south.
Mr Assad and his forces 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 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.
Image: Rebel leader Abu Mohammed al Jolani. Pic: Syrian Rebel Operations via Reuters
Footage circulating on social media showed families ransacking presidential palaces in Damascus and taking selfies in the grand settings.
Soldiers were reported to have deserted their posts and changed into civilian clothes as the rebels closed in.
Mohammed Amer al Oulabi, 44, was one of the many residents celebrating on the streets.
“From Idlib to Damascus, it only took them (the opposition forces) a few days, thank God. May God bless them, the heroic lions who made us proud,” he said.
Rebels announced a curfew starting from 4pm (1pm UK time) on Sunday until 5am on Monday.
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Inside Assad’s private residence
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Syrians inside presidential palace
The country’s international airport in Damascus was abandoned and rebels said they had entered the notorious Saydnaya military prison north of the capital and freed inmates.
Iran’s embassy was also stormed by Syrian rebels, Iran’s English-language Press TV reported.
In a sign of perhaps what was to come – protesters on Saturday brought down a statue of the president’s late father in a main square in a suburb a few miles from the centre of the capital.
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Damascus: Protesters topple statue
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Syrians react to Damascus being ‘freed’
Mr Assad had relied on his main allies, Russia and Iran, to counter insurgencies during his decades in power.
But with Russia now busy with its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Iran’s proxies Hezbollah and Hamas embroiled in a conflict with Israel, Syria’s army was left exposed.
The fall of Mr Assad’s regime marks a turning point for Syria after 13 years of civil conflict.
Towns and cities have been reduced to rubble, hundreds of thousands of people have died, and millions have been forced abroad as refugees.
It’s a new dawn – but there are dark clouds on the horizon
It’s over.
Fifty-four years of brutal Assad dynasty rule has come to an end. The streets of Damascus have erupted in celebration, President Assad has fled the country and the capital has fallen.
What comes next is of great concern. Syria is deeply divided, geographically and socially. This is a moment of huge peril.
Once the euphoria cools there will be deep hatred and anger towards former Assad loyalists after decades of murderous rule. Containing that will be difficult.
Who will govern Syria is unknown. Multiple rebel groups control different parts of the country and, we assume, they will all want their slice of power. That is a recipe for further civil war unless this can be managed in an orderly way.
Syria’s prime minister, Mohammed Ghazi al Jalali, has remained in Damascus and offered a peaceful transition. How he is treated will be a good indicator.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the main group that started this rebellion with the capture of Aleppo, was once affiliated with Al Qaeda. It has renounced those links but remain a proscribed terror organisation by the US and others.
Russia and Iran, Assad’s two main state sponsors, abandoned him when his fate seemed inevitable. It’s unlikely they will abandon Syria quite so quickly though. Moscow has key military bases on the Mediterranean coast which opens up a part of the world to them – giving these up would be a huge strategic blow.
To Iran, Syria was a centrepiece in its axis of resistance, the funnel through which weapons were channelled to Hezbollah and vital territory in its arc of influence. But Assad and Hezbollah have now both collapsed, and Iran’s network of Shia influence is in tatters.
It’s a new dawn for Syria, but there are dark clouds on the horizon.
Trump: Syria is ‘not our friend’
The White House said US President Joe Biden and his team were monitoring the “extraordinary events” in touch with regional partners.
Daniel Shapiro, from the US Department of Defense, said they would continue to maintain their presence in eastern Syria “solely to ensure the enduring defeat” of the Islamic State.
President-elect Donald Trump said the US should not get involved in the conflict.
“Syria is a mess,” he posted on his social media site Truth Social, adding the country is “not our friend”.
In a fresh post this morning, 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.”
Image: Mr Assad and Mr Putin in Moscow in July 2024. Pic: AP
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 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 areas in the buffer zone, adding: “We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border”.
The UN’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, urged all Syrians to prioritise dialogue, unity, and respect for international humanitarian law and human rights as they seek to rebuild their society.
British Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner told Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips she “welcomed” news of Assad’s regime falling, adding: “He wasn’t exactly good to the Syrian people.”
Ms Rayner said: “We want to see a political resolution so that we can get that stability for Syrians and make sure that they have their infrastructure so that they have a political government there that is working in the interest of the Syrian people.”
Asked for her message to UK citizens in Syria, Ms Rayner said the foreign secretary was “very clear” that they should leave.
“We’ve had a plan to ensure that people were evacuated ahead of what’s happened over the weekend and we continue to support our UK nationals,” she added.
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
Image: The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
Image: The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Image: Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Image: Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
Image: The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
Image: The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
Tens of thousands of people have packed St Peter’s Square as the funeral of Pope Francis begins.
Royals, world leaders and cardinals joined scores of worshippers at the Vatican, as mourning of the 266th pontiff transcended wealth and social class.
In keeping with Francis’s life as a breaker of tradition, many of the more elaborate and expensive rituals customary for the burial of popes have been foregone in favour of simpler options.
Around 200,000 people are attending the funeral, with around 50,000 packing out St Peter’s Square.
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His body had been lying in state since his death aged 88 on Easter Monday, spending the last few days in St Peter’s Basilica to allow mourners to pay their respects.
The Vatican – where the funeral service is taking place – and Rome – where Francis will be laid to rest – are under heavy security, with a no-fly zone in place overhead.
Image: The coffin of Pope Francis is borne aloft by pallbearers. Pic: Reuters
Image: Members of the clergy gathered to say farewell to their pontiff. Pic: Reuters
Francis’s coffin has been taken out into St Peter’s Square where 220 cardinals and 750 bishops and priests are sitting in rows, waiting to say goodbye to the Bishop of Rome.
A series of readings and prayers are being read before the 50,000 faithful gathered before the basilica, and the coffin will be sprinkled with holy water and incense.
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Singing rings out at the Vatican
Image: Members of the clergy stand in St Peter’s Square. Pic: Reuters
It began with Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re reading the Penitential Act – a way for the faithful to confess their sinfulness.
This was followed by the Liturgy of the Word, a part in Catholic mass where faithful gather to hear and reflect on the word of God.
Cardinal Re then delivered the homily, speaking about Pope Francis’ life and service to God.
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Applause breaks out as Zelenskyy arrives
Image: Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re read the homily
The cardinal praised the pontiff as someone who “touched the minds and hearts of people” who was “attentive to the signs of the times”.
He added: “Despite his frailty and suffering towards the end, Pope Francis chose to follow this path of self-giving until the last day of his earthly life.”
He said Francis “was a pope among the people, with an open heart towards everyone”.
Image: Tens of thousands pack St Peter’s Square for the funeral. Pic: AP
Image: Clergy seated during the funeral. Pic: AP
At the end of the mass, the choir will sing in Latin: “May the angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs come and welcome you and take you into the holy city, the new and eternal Jerusalem.”
After the service, Pope Francis’s body will be taken in procession through the streets of Rome to his final resting place at his favourite church, the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
Image: Worshippers outside the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Pic: Reuters
He will be ushered into the basilica – dedicated to the Virgin Mary – by prisoners and migrants, a last reflection of his priorities as pope.
In a break with tradition, the Popeoutlined in his will his request to be buried “in the ground, without particular ornamentation” but simply with the inscription “Franciscus”.