A portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is pictured with its frame broken, in a Syrian regime's Political Security Branch facility on the outskirts of the central city of Hama, following the capture of the area by anti-government forces, on 7 December 2024. Photo: OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ousted as rebels take Damascus
Overthrown Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family have arrived in Moscow after being granted asylum in Russia, according to Russian state media TASS, citing a source in the Kremlin.
"Assad and his family have arrived in Moscow. Russia, for humanitarian reasons, has granted them asylum," the Kremlin source said, according to TASS
Meanwhile, Syrian rebel forces reached additional cells in the notorious Saydnaya prison on Sunday, freeing more prisoners from inhumane conditions after seizing the capital Damascus and toppling the Assad regime.
In one video streamed online by Al Jazeera news, rebel forces can be seen breaking down walls with sledgehammers, after the discovery of prison cells that appeared to be hidden. Footage shows hundreds of men shuffling out of the extremely overcrowded prison.