The rebel-led offensive in Syria culminated in the takeover of the capital Damascus on Sunday after rebels announced on state television that they had overthrown President Bashar al-Assad, collapsing the regime in a lightening offensive.
Led by Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the opposition factions staged an incursion which saw them enter the city of Homs on Saturday and rapidly storm Damascus where it was reported that the Syrian army withdrew.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Assad had fled the country via Damascus International Airport, though it remains unclear where he is exactly.
HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, known as al-Jolani, called on fighters not to enter state institutions and buildings in Damascus. Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali is reported to be cooperating with HTS and agreeing to a transition of power.
Opposition factions had been advancing since 27 November, with other prominent groups also taking control of towns and cities, such as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) take Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria.
Hundreds of Syrians are believed to have been freed from regime prisons including the notorious Sednaya Prison in Damascus, which housed thousands involved in the anti-regime uprising in 2011 that spiralled into a civil war.
