What we know about the fall of Syria’s Bashar Al Assad

How did Al Assad flee?

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said Al Assad left on a private plane that took off from Damascus international airport at 10pm (1900 GMT) on Saturday night, without specifying where he headed.

After that, the army and security forces pulled out of the airport, with commercial flights already suspended earlier, added the Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources on the ground.

The rebels, who began a lightning offensive on October 27, quickly announced they had toppled Al Assad and that Damascus was a “free” city, calling on millions of Syrians who fled the war for safety abroad to return home.

Bashar Al Assad and his family are in Moscow, Russian news agencies announced Sunday evening citing a Kremlin source, hours after he fled the country as rebels entered Damascus.

The announcement comes as Russia, a key Assad ally, called for an emergency meeting of the UN security council on the fast-changing situation on the ground in the war-torn country.

“Assad and members of his family have arrived in Moscow,” the source told the TASS and Ria Novosti news agencies. “Russia granted them asylum on humanitarian grounds,” he added.

Asked whether Assad was confirmed to be in Moscow, a Western official said they believed that was likely the case and had no reason to doubt Moscow’s claim.

The Kremlin source also said the rebels who ousted Assad in a lightning offensive “guaranteed the security of Russian army bases and diplomatic institutions on Syria’s territory”.

What about the Syrian army?

As news of Al Assad’s departure spread, army soldiers in various parts of the capital Damascus began shedding their military clothes, local residents told AFP.

One eyewitness, requesting anonymity, told AFP they saw dozens of military vehicles abandoned in the upscale Mazzeh district, home to military and security headquarters, embassies and United Nations offices.

The army has not issued an official statement, but soldiers told AFP they were told to leave their positions, with one saying “our direct superior told us to leave and go home, so we knew it was over.”

On the highway between the central city of Homs and Damascus, an AFP correspondent saw hundreds of soldiers gathered near rebel checkpoints.

Hundreds of soldiers and rebel fighters have been killed since the offensive began, with fierce battles in the country’s north particularly in the first few days.

But government forces withdrew from their positions with no major resistance in some areas, according to the Observatory.

The rebels swiftly took control of several strategic cities within days, starting from second city Aleppo, then central Hama and Homs before marching on the capital.

Thirteen years of civil war have exhausted Syria’s military equipment and army, which has lost around half of its personnel, estimated at 300,000 before 2011.

In recent days, analysts have emphasised the military’s weakness on the battlefield, without effective Russian or Iranian support.

A source close to Lebanon’s Hezbollah told AFP the Iran-backed group had withdrawn from positions in the vicinity of Damascus and in a border area with Lebanon, where it had bases and depots.

Who holds power?

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Al Jalali, who took up the post in September, said in a message broadcast on his Facebook page that he was ready to “cooperate” with the leadership chosen by the Syrian people and for any handover procedures.

The rebel factions announced a “new era” in Syria.

The leader of Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, Abu Mohammed Al Jolani, ordered forces Sunday not to approach official institutions in Damascus, saying they would remain under the prime minister until they are officially handed over.

In the statement on Telegram, Al Jolani used his real name Ahmed Al Sharaa instead of his more well-known nom de guerre.

With the army’s collapse in areas it controlled, including around critical facilities, the rebels and other armed groups who control swathes of the country face major challenges.

Mohanad Hage Ali from the Carnegie Middle East Center said on X, that “the main challenge today lies in re-building the Syrian state and shifting from the chaos and fragmentation phase.”

“Until now, the factions have shown awareness in dealing with minorities and prisoners,” he said, amid hope this could help translate “into the reconstruction of state institutions”.