Image source, EPA

We are closing this page and will be continuing our live coverage on what's happening in Syria here.

Here is a recap of the dramatic developments in the hours since rebel forces seized the capital Damascus unopposed and toppled Bashar al-Assad.

• State media in Russia, a key ally of Assad's regime, said he and his family have arrived in Moscow and been granted asylum "out of humanitarian considerations". He fled after rebel group HTS swept into the capital this weekend
• Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani addressed cheering crowds in a Damascus mosque, where he said "this victory is for all Syrians"

• Explosions were heard in Damascus late on Sunday after the regime fell, with some reports saying Israel had conducted three airstrikes against a major security complex. Israel has not commented
• Meanwhile, civilians in Damascus and across Syria have taken to the streets erupting in cheers, tears and hopes for a better tomorrow. BBC's Barbara Plett Usher speaks to some of them, who say they can now "actually breathe"
• Rebel forces have also freed prisoners from government jails - thousands of detainees were said to have been executed or died of torture or starvation in these jails between 2011 and 2018
• Some world leaders and analysts who have weighed in on the developments stress that there is ambiguity as to what will happen next. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his country would closely monitor developments in Syria and assess the rebel leaders by their actions, not words.

We will bring you the latest on our new page.

There's been a lot to unpack today. BBC correspondents have been looking into what today's changes actually mean for the region - here's a spotlight on some of their analysis:

Frank Gardner says Bashar al-Assad was a colossal disappointment to the West, in a closer look at changing perceptions of Assad in his 24-year-long presidency.

Steve Rosenberg delves deeper into how Russia is trying to find a dialogue with the new Syrian leadership, and its concerns over the fate of its two military bases in Syria.

Lyse Doucet tells us about the times she met Assad, and says his stubborn refusal to ease his grip on power is ultimately what led to his downfall.

Jeremy Bowen says that what happens in Syria shapes the region, and considers what comes next after Assad's demise.

Hugo Bachega offers a look at how the end of Assad's rule will reshape the balance of power in the region, but warns the dramatic changes could lead to a power vacuum and, possibly, more chaos.

James Landale says that while few tears have been shed for the Assad regime, there are widespread concerns about the impact of his demise - and where Syria goes from here.

The Syrian civil defence group known as the White Helmets says it is investigating reports from survivors of the country's notorious Saydnaya prison that people are being detained in hidden underground cells.

Saydnaya is one of the prisons liberated as rebels took control of the country.

Writing on X, the White Helmets says it has deployed five "specialised emergency teams" to the prison, who are being helped by a guide familiar with the prison's layout.

Authorities in Damascus province, meanwhile, have issued an appeal to those who used to work at the prison to supply the rebel forces with codes to underground electronic doors.

The Damascus Countryside Governorate says efforts are continuing to try and reach "more than 100,000 detainees who can be seen on CCTV monitors".

Read more about the prison here.

Rebecca Hartmann
Reporting from the White House

Image source, Reuters

The US’s approach to Syria had “shifted the balance of power in the Middle East”, President Biden said on Sunday.

Speaking from the Roosevelt Room, Biden outlined a three-pronged approach to the conflict - “support for our partners, sanctions and diplomacy, and targeted military force when necessary”, he said, pointing to a continued US military presence in Syria.

“We're clear-eyed about the fact that ISIS [the Islamic State group - IS] will try to take advantage of any vacuum to re-establish its capability and to create a safe haven. We will not let that happen," Biden said.

On Sunday, the US Central Command confirmed they had conducted an operation targeting over 75 targets.

Those targets were in the Badiyah desert in the east of Syria, where IS is reconstituting, said a senior official from the administration.

Russia has requested an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council in order to discuss the situation in Syria, according to one of its representatives.

Dmitry Polyanskiy, who is Russia's first deputy permanent representative to the UN, writes on Telegram that he expects the meeting to be held on Monday.

The AFP news agency quotes diplomatic sources saying that a meeting will take place then.

Polyanskiy says it is unclear what the "depth and consequences" of the fall of the Assad regime will be for Russia and the rest of the Middle East.

In particular, he says it is important to discuss the circumstances surrounding Israel temporarily seizing control of the UN-patrolled demilitarised zone in the Golan Heights.

Mina al-Lami
Jihadist Media Specialist, BBC Monitoring

Image source, Reuters

The Syrian rebel leader known as Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani has dropped that nom de guerre, which is associated with his jihadist past, and been using his real name, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in official communiques issued since Thursday, ahead of the fall of Assad.

This move is part of Jawlani's effort to bolster his legitimacy in a new context, as his Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, leading other rebel factions, announced the capture of the capital Damascus, solidifying its control over much of the country.

Jawlani's transformation has been carefully cultivated over the years.

Once clad in traditional jihadist militant attire, he has adopted a more Western-style wardrobe in the past years.

But who is Jawlani - or Ahmed al-Sharaa - and why and how has he changed? Find out more in my analysis.

Earlier we brought you an early assessment of the situation from BBC International Editor Jeremy Bowen.

We can now bring you a bit more:

Image source, Reuters

The Assad regime's refusal to engage in a "credible political process" and its reliance on Russian and Iranian support "inevitably led to its own collapse", US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.

The US will "closely monitor" developments in the country and will assess the rebel leaders by their actions, not words, Blinken said, calling on them to "take all precautions" to protect civilians.

"During this transitional period, the Syrian people have every right to demand the preservation of state institutions, the resumption of key services, and the protection of vulnerable communities," he said, adding that the US will support efforts to hold the Assad regime accountable for abuses committed against the Syrian people.

"After 14 years of conflict, the Syrian people finally have reason for hope."

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

There’ve been few tears shed for the Assad regime. President Macron of France said a barbaric state had fallen.

Chancellor Scholz of Germany said the Syrian people had suffered appallingly and the end of Assad was good news. But that satisfaction was outweighed by concern about what might come next.

The United Nations’ special envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, said it was a moment of only “cautious hope” and emphasised the need for a stable transition.

Arab countries in the Gulf - which had repaired relations with Assad in recent years – looked on nervously at the prospect of an Islamist-led Syria.

Qatar’s foreign ministry voiced “great concern” and called for Syria’s unity to be protected.

A senior Emirati diplomat, Anwar Gargash, told the Manama Dialogue Syria was “not out of the woods” and hoped different groups there could work together.

Countries with a direct stake emphasised continuity.

The US has military forces in eastern Syria and a senior Pentagon official said they would remain there to combat the Islamic State group which, he admitted, could exploit the chaos to step up its operations.

Turkey hosts more than three million Syrian refugees and the country’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, said they could now return home.

He also said Turkey would continue to fight Kurdish groups in Syria that his country brands terrorists.

As for Assad’s allies, Russia and Iran, the EU foreign affairs chief, Kaja Kallas, said both were weakened. Russia’s foreign ministry said its two military facilities in Syria were on high alert but there was no serious threat.

President-elect Donald Trump said the fall of Assad meant President Putin should agree an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.

Iran - which has lost its territorial link to Hezbollah in Lebanon - said, without irony, the Syrian people should determine their future “without any destructive interference or external imposition”.

Pictures from earlier on Sunday showed Syrians in Lebanon and Jordan entering Syria, just hours after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad.

On the Lebanon-Syria border, an correspondent with the AFP news agency saw dozens of cars lining the main Masnaa crossing, with crowds cheering and chanting anti-Assad slogans.

On the Jaber crossing from Jordan, one man told Reuters: "I have been in Jordan for 12 years. When we heard the news that Bashar al-Assad fell, we felt better emotionally. We can return to our country with safety and security."

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Earlier on Sunday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told local media that Iran - an ally of former President Assad - was not asked to intervene as rebels swept towards Damascus.

"We were never asked for help, the duty was the duty of the [Syrian] army basically, we did not consider it a duty for ourselves," he said.

"What was surprising was the inability of the Syrian army to counter this move and the speed of the developments," he added.

Syrian communities in cities across the world have been celebrating the downfall of President Assad's regime.

Earlier, crowds gathered in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to cheer and wave flags.

Mazen Haseno helped organise the demonstration on Sunday afternoon. Before arriving in the UK eight years ago, Haseno said he was imprisoned and "tortured by the Syrian regime" for two-and-a-half years.

Watch below for his story - or click here for the full article from BBC Northern Ireland.

As rebel forces swept across Syria in recent days, they freed prisoners from government jails.

In video verified by AFP, Syrians are seen running into Syria's most notorious military prison, Saydnaya, in search of relatives held there.

In one clip,a small child being held with his mother is seen leaving a cell.

In 2022, a report from a group representing those in Saydnaya said more than 30,000 detainees had either been executed or died as a result of torture, lack of medical care or starvation between 2011 and 2018.

• Read our full story here

In our last post (see below), Jeremy Bowen said that Assad's regime collapsed in less than a fortnight - here are the key defining moments that led to the rebels' victory.

27 November: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allies announce they have launched an offensive - accusing the government of escalating attacks on civilians in the north-west.

30 November: Syria's military confirmed that rebels had entered "large parts" of Aleppo.

5 December: Hama falls to the rebels following days of fighting.

6 December: rebel forces in southern Syria capture most of the Deraa region - the birthplace of the 2011 uprising against Assad.

7 December: rebels say they have taken Homs - Syria's third largest city.

8 December: in the early hours of the morning the rebels announce they have entered Damascus. Less than two hours later, they declare: "The tyrant Bashar al-Assad has fled."

Jeremy Bowen
International Editor, reporting from Turkey

Image source, Reuters

The fall of the Assad regime is another violent upending of the old order in the Middle East, the latest and probably not the last in the series of geopolitical earthquakes since the Hamas attacks on Israel in October last year. Strategically, Syria is at the centre of the Middle East.

What happens in Syria shapes the region – and affects the wider world too. One example – a quarter of Syria’s pre war population now forms a global diaspora of refugees.

During 14 years of war so many outside powers intervened - including Russia, Turkey, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the US and Iran - that it went from being a Syrian civil war to a mini world war.

The challenge now for the rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani, for all Syrians and for outside powers is to try to end the war, not help it take a new and even more bloody form.

The best scenario is for Syrian rebels to refrain from revenge attacks, to restore law and order and to start a political process in which all Syrians can take part. Outside powers need to act in the interests of Syria, not take advantage of its fragility.

The nightmare scenario is that Syria might go the way of other Arab dictatorships – Iraq after Saddam Hussein and Libya under Muammar al Gadaffi – and descend into years of killing and chaos.

The Assad regime used to boast that its Syria was the beating heart of Arabism. Bashar al-Assad repeated that when the Arab League readmitted Syria last year. He was hoping for rehabilitation to seal his victory over the rebels. Instead, when the rebels pushed, his regime collapsed in less than a fortnight.

Image source, Reuters

We're now bringing you some more details from rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani's speech earlier today at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.

Jawlani, leader of the HTS group that spearheaded the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad, told the crowd it was "a victory for the entire Muslim nation" and represented a "new page for the region".

He thanked the "martyrs" who had died in Syria's long conflict - the civil war started in 2011 - and said Assad had spread "sectarianism" and "corruption".

He said that Syria was "abandoned as a playground for Iranian ambitions" under Assad, but today everyone could "breathe freely".

Earlier, we reported on Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani - leader of Syrian rebel group HTS - being cheered as he spoke in the landmark Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.

"It was a moment no one could have imagined just 24 hours earlier," wrote BBC Arabic special correspondent Feras Kilani.

We can now bring you footage from Feras, as Jawlani arrived in the mosque.

Earlier on the BBC News channel, presenter Maryam Moshiri asked our correspondent in Damascus Lina Sinjab - who is from Syria - how it felt to witness this weekend's events:

Image source, Reuters

It's just turned midnight in Damascus, Syria, and a lot has changed in the past 24 hours. If you're just joining us here's a brief summary of the latest updates from today:

• Early this morning, Syria's then-president Bashar al-Assad fled Damascus when rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) swept in
• Assad, his wife and his three children are now in Moscow - where they have been granted asylum
• Rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani addressed cheering crowds in a Damascus mosque, where he said “this victory is for all Syrians”
• Our correspondents - the only Western media in Damascus - have witnessed crowds celebrating on the streets, and have watched while Syrians loot Assad's former residence
• They have also heard explosions in Damascus - unconfirmed reports say Israel is striking the city. Israel has not commented
• A short while ago, US President Joe Biden said the US has carried out around a dozen precision air strikes against IS targets in Syria - the US military later said the number of strikes stood at 75
• Western leaders have welcomed the end of the Assad regime but highlighted the "moment of risk and uncertainty" for Syria's future

Rebecca Hartmann
Reporting from the White House

A senior US administration official has said that they are not currently contemplating US boots on the ground in Syria in order to neutralise any chemical weapons.

According to the senior official, neutralising chemical weapons in Syria is a ‘top tier priority’ and something that the expertise in the US government is focused on right now. But they are exploring other options in order to neutralise that threat.

The senior official added that they are doing everything they can, including working with ‘partners’ in the region to ensure that the material is either not available to anyone or ‘taken care of’.