Deposed Syrian leader Bashar Assad boarded a plane in Damascus for an unknown destination as rebels took over the capital, two senior army officers were cited by the Reuters news agency as saying.
A Syrian Air aircraft took off from Damascus airport around the time of the rebel takeover, according to data from the Flightradar website. It was not immediately clear if Assad was on the flight.
The airplane initially flew towards Syria's northwest, which is a traditional Assad stronghold with a substantial Alawite population, but then turned around and flew in the opposite direction. It later disappeared from the map.
Asked about Assad's whereabouts during a press conference in Doha, Qatar, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that the ousted leader was "probably outside of Syria," but did not comment on an exact location.
United Arab Emirates presidential advisor Anwar Gargash declined to confirm or deny speculation that Assad had requested asylum in the Gulf country.
The UN's special envoy to Syria, Geir Pederson, said that he had no information on Assad's whereabouts.
Syrians in Germany celebrate Assad's downfall
Hundreds of Syrians residing in Germany have demonstrated their joy at the overthrow of President Bashar Assad's regime with street rallies and motorcades in Berlin.
The German capital's neighborhood of Neukölln, where many have come to live after fleeing the Syrian civil war, saw a rejoicing crowd gather in front of a Syrian bakery on the Sonnenallee boulevard. The district has become known for its many Arabic stores, restaurants and coffee shops.
Others joined together in motorcades through the city to celebrate the rebel takeover of the Syrian capital, Damascus, which seems to have put an end to Assad's 24-year autocratic rule.
Hundreds of thousands of Syrians seeking refuge from the war have come to Germany after often long, arduous and dangerous journeys by sea and by land.
US to retain military presence in east to prevent IS resurgence: Pentagon official
The US military will maintain a presence in eastern Syria to keep terrorist group Islamic State (IS) in check, the Pentagon has said amid concerns that the organization might exploit the current unsettled political situation in the country.
Daniel B. Shapiro, a deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, said the US presence was "solely to ensure the enduring defeat of [IS] and has nothing to do with other aspects of this conflict."
"We are aware that the chaotic and dynamic circumstances on the ground in Syria could give [IS] space to find the ability to become active, to plan external operations," he said.
IS captured large swathes of territory in Syria in 2014-2015, exploiting the opportunities and power vacuums amid the Syrian civil war, but lost all its Middle Eastern territories by 2019 through conflicts with various forces, including those backed by the United States, such as the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
Since then, IS has reverted to relatively minor acts of insurgency, but fears remain across the region that it could engineer a return to power in some areas.
Shapiro made his remarks at the Manama Dialogue security conference in Bahrain's capital.
Syria rebels say transferring power to interim government
Syria's rebel coalition said it was working to transfer power to a transitional governing body.
"The great Syrian revolution has moved from the stage of struggle to overthrow the Assad regime to the struggle to build a Syria together that befits the sacrifices of its people," it said.
Security analyst Rodger Shanahan said the announcement showed maturity among the rebel leaders.
Iranian Embassy stormed by rebels
Rebels have stormed the Iranian Embassy in Damascus following their capture of the Syrian capital.
Footage from the AP news agency showed broken windows and documents scattered along the entrance to the embassy.
"Iranian diplomats at the embassy in Damascus evacuated the premises prior to an assault," the Tehran Times daily reported, citing Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei.
Iran, along with the Hezbollah militia it supports, and Russia were the main supporters of the Assad government. Their assistance helped the Syrian regime forces regain and maintain control of important parts of the country during the civil war and enabled Assad, apparently until now, to remain in power.
Assad regime overthrown at surprising speed: analyst
Middle East Analyst Rodger Shanahan has told DW that the speed with which the Assad regime fell surprised commentators and regional countries alike.
"Most people expected a much bigger fight to be put up and this to be a bloody campaign, but it turned out to be quite the opposite," he said.
He said the rebel forces were very well-prepared and motivated for the offensive, while the Syrian army had been "hollowed out over the years."
"The Assad military forces were not willing to fight and die for their cause, whereas the opposition were," Shanahan said, adding that the rebels gained momentum early on that was difficult to stop, beginning with the fall of Aleppo.
He said the speed of the offensive also meant that Assad's backers in Russia and Iran "weren't able to act quickly enough, and probably, given the lack of fight in the Syrian military, decided that they wouldn't react in the end."
Shanahan said also the rebels were at pains to ensure that civilian infrastructure remained as intact as possible to facilitate a smooth transition of power.
Assad 'horrors' to come to light — DW journalist
DW journalist Gasia Ohanes said she expects the coming days to reveal the "horrors" of Bashar Assad's regime.
"In the next few days, we'll see a lot of the brutality and the horrors of the Assad regime will come to light," she said, pointing to "political prisoners who have been imprisoned for decades" and who have now been released.
She said Syrian army conscripts would leave the military, and displaced Syrians would also start returning home.
"We'll see soldiers who've been conscripted forcefully for 13 years now go back to their families," she said. "More than 12 million Syrian people have been displaced in this war — all of them will be trying to see how they can get back home [and] see their families."
Ohanes said that "so far we have not seen any signs" of attacks on minority groups such as Christians, Druze and Alawites.
Ohanes said the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group has "changed [its] stance in recent days with this offensive and part of that could be to gain recognition later on from the international community," but noted that it is an extremist group that is classified by the United States and other nations as a terror organization.
She pointed out that in the northwestern city of Latakia, which is majority-Alawite and a traditional Assad stronghold, a statue of the ousted leader was toppled "without a single bullet being fired."
Syria prime minister urges free elections
Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali called for free elections in Syria to allow its people to choose their leadership, news agency Reuters reported, citing Jalali's interview with Al Arabiya.
The prime minister added in the interview that he had been in contact with rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani to discuss managing the current transitional period.
Meanwhile, Al Arabiya published a video on X reportedly showing opposition forces escorting Jalali out of his office for a meeting with the military operations.
Videos show rebels entering presidential palace
Several videos were circulating on social media on Sunday showing that Syrian rebels had entered the presidential palace in Damascus.
News agency dpa cited an eyewitness as saying that the rebels entered the palace — located in the city's western Mezzeh district — while chanting "God is most great."
The rebels entered the palace grounds apparently without any resistance, dpa reported, adding that there were reports from the palace that government employees and security forces had vacated the building.
Other videos, news agency AP reported, showed Syrian families wandering into the palace — called The People's Palace — with some emerging carrying piles of plates and other household items.
Syrian journalist speaks of country's joy at Assad's downfall
Syrian journalist Ossama Muhammad has told DW of the widespread joy in his country after the apparent fall of the regime of President Bashar Assad.
"Everybody is happy about this," said Muhammad, speaking from the largely Kurdish-administrated northeast of the country.
He said there were reports that the two major forces now controlling the country — the Syrian Democratic Forces in the northeast and the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, which has led the rebel alliance that has now taken Damascus — along with the opposition Free Syrian Army, would hold talks on how to include all the ethnicities in Syria in any political process.
Israeli military deploys forces in buffer zone
Israel's military said on Sunday that it had deployed forces in the UN-monitored buffer zone with Syria and also at a number of points it said were necessary for the defense of Israel following the rapid rebel advance in Syria.
"In accordance with the situational assessment following the recent events in Syria, including the entry of armed personnel into the buffer zone, the IDF has deployed forces in the buffer zone and in several other places necessary for its defense, to ensure the safety of the communities of the Golan Heights and the citizens of Israel," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on social media platform X.
The IDF stressed that it was not interfering with the "internal events" taking place in Syria.
"The IDF will continue to operate as long as necessary in order to preserve the buffer zone and defend Israel and its civilians," it added.
The Israeli-occupied Golan Heights are about 60 kilometers (40 miles) from Damascus.
Israel occupied the area after the Six-Day War in 1967 and later annexed it in a move that much of the international community has not recognized.
A ceasefire deal had created a demilitarized buffer zone between Syria and Israel. United Nations peacekeeping forces have patrolled the region since 1974.
Head of US-backed Kurdish-led forces greets fall of Assad
Mazloum Abdi, the leader of the Syrian Democratic Forces, has hailed the reported overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
"This change presents an opportunity to build a new Syria based on democracy and justice that secures the rights of all Syrians," he said in a written statement that praised the fall of the "authoritarian regime in Damascus."
The Kurdish-led group, which is the official military wing of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) — a region whose autonomy is de facto rather than recognized by any government — claims to be fighting for a secular, democratic and federalized Syria.
It is led by the People's Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia that is considered a terrorist group by Turkey and Qatar.
The Syrian Democratic Forces have received US backing for their role in fighting the extremist group Islamic State (IS).
Syrian army says military operations against 'terrorists' ongoing
The Syrian army issued a statement early on Sunday announcing that its forces were continuing military operations against "terrorist groups" in the countryside of Hama, Homs and Daraa.
It spoke of a large-scale plot targeting the country and urged citizens to remain vigilant in defending Syria's stability and sovereignty.
The statement appears to conflict with reports, citing military circles, that Syria's army command had notified troops they were no longer in service after rebels entered and reportedly took control of the capital, Damascus.
Assad overthrown, all prisoners set free: Rebel video statement
In a video statement broadcast by Syrian state TV, rebels have announced that the 24-year regime of President Bashar Assad has been overthrown.
The rebels also said they had released all prisoners.
The statement spoke of "the liberation of the city of Damascus and the fall of the tyrant Bashar Assad and the release of all the unjustly detained from the regime prisons."
It also urged all opposition fighters and citizens to safeguard state institutions of the "free Syrian state."
