'Watershed moment' as Assad steps down, flees Damascus; Russia grants asylum

DAMASCUS: Rebel forces have overthrown President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, ending the Assad family's five decades of rule in the country. Assad and his family are said to have taken asylum in Russia while there are also reports of his plane crashing. The 53 years of dictatorial rule of the Baath Party have come to an end. The rebels announced that they would hand over power to an interim government. At the same time, Russian media TASS confirmed that Assad reached Moscow along with his family.

Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi Al Jalali, who is cooperating with the rebels, announced that elections would be held soon. Ghazi Al Jalali is in contact with the rebel commander Abu Muhammad Al Golani.

The rebels captured the capital, Damascus while hundreds of dissident prisoners in the infamous Sednaya prison were freed. The 13-year-long civil war left three and a half lakh people dead and thousands homeless. Thousands of people chanted freedom slogans at the city gates. A statue of Hafiz, Bashar's father and former president, was vandalized. Bashar's palace was invaded and looted. The Syrian Central Bank was also looted.

The rebel gang toppling the Assad regime would give headaches to Iran and Russia, Assad's strong backers. Iran in recent times has been less focused on Syria because of the war against Israel. Meanwhile, Russia had their share of problems with Ukraine to deal with rather than aiding Assad.

At the same time, following the intensification of the riots, the President of the Syrian Orthodox Church, Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch Bawa, cut short his 10-day Kerala visit and will return to Lebanon on Tuesday. The Syrian Orthodox Church is headquartered in Damascus.

It is reported that Bashar went to an unknown location on Saturday night after it became known that the rebels would capture Damascus. Flightradar24.com website states that the Ilyushin 276T flight took off from Damascus airport. It was said that the flight was lost from radar near the city of Homs. It is reported that al-Bashar may have been killed in a plane crash and may have been shot by rebels.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham

• A powerful rebel armed organization in Syria

• Led by commander Abu Muhammad Al Golani

• A strong ally of Al-Qaeda and was known as Nusra Front.