The lightning advance of a militia alliance spearheaded by Hayat al-Tahrir al-Sham, a former al-Qaeda affiliate, marked one of the biggest turning points for the Middle East in generations.
Assad's fall wiped out a bastion from which Iran and Russia exercised influence across the Arab world.
After 14 years of brutal war & the fall of the dictatorial regime, today the people of Syria can seize an historic opportunity to build a stable & peaceful future.— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) The future of Syria is a matter for the Syrians to determine. @UNEnvoySyria will work with them towards that end.…December 8, 2024
Moscow gave asylum to Assad and his family, Russia's ambassador to international organisations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, confirmed on his Telegram channel on Sunday.
International governments welcomed the end of the Assad family's autocratic government as they sought to take stock of a new-look Middle East.
US President Joe Biden said Syria was in a period of risk and uncertainty, and it was the first time in years that neither Russia, Iran nor the Hezbollah militant organisation held an influential role there.
Hayat al-Tahrir al-Sham is still designated as a terrorist group by the US, Turkey and the United Nations despite spending years trying to soften its image to reassure international governments and minority groups within Syria.
Assad's overthrow limits Iran's ability to spread weapons to its allies and could cost Russia its Mediterranean naval base.
It could also allow millions of refugees scattered for more than a decade in camps across Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan to finally return home.
The militia alliance faces a monumental task to rebuild and run a country after a war that has left hundreds of thousands dead, cities pounded to dust and an economy hollowed by global sanctions.
Syria will need billions of dollars in aid.
Syria will need billions of dollars in aid to rebuild after 14 years of civil war. (AP PHOTO)
"A new history, my brothers, is being written in the entire region after this great victory," said Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the head of rebel group.
Speaking to a huge crowd on Sunday at Damascus' Umayyad Mosque, Golani said with hard work, Syria would be "a beacon for the Islamic nation".
Golani is a Sunni Muslim - the majority in a country also home to religious sects including Christians and Assad's fellow Alawites, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.
Assad's Prime Minister Mohammed Jalali told Sky News Arabia he would be willing to meet with Golani and was ready to provide documents and assistance to transfer power.
He said he had no answer to the fate of the Syrian army.
"It is a question left to the brothers who will take over the management of the country's affairs," he said.
"What concerns us today is the continuation of services for Syrians."
The Assad police state was known as one of the harshest in the Middle East with hundreds of thousands of political prisoners held in horrifying conditions.
On Sunday, elated but often confused inmates poured out of jails.
The White Helmets rescue organisation said it had dispatched emergency teams to search for hidden underground cells still believed to hold detainees.
Events in Syria have raised concerns about more regional instability in the Middle East. (AP PHOTO)
With a curfew declared by the rebels, Damascus was calm after dawn on Monday, with shops closed and streets largely empty
The pace of events stunned world capitals and raised concerns about more regional instability on top of the Gaza war, Israel's attacks on Lebanon and tensions between Israel and Iran.
The US Central Command said its forces conducted dozens of air strikes targeting known Islamic State camps and operatives in central Syria on Sunday.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Sunday he spoke with Turkish defence minister Yasar Guler and emphasised the importance of protecting civilians.
He said the US was watching closely.
Syria's civil war erupted in 2011 as an uprising against Assad, with his forces and their Russian allies bombing cities to rubble.
The refugee crisis across the Middle East was one of the biggest of modern times and caused a political reckoning in Europe when a million people arrived in 2015.
In recent years, Turkey had backed some rebels in a small redoubt in the northwest and along its border.
The US, which has about 900 troops in Syria, backed a Kurdish-led alliance that fought Islamic State jihadists from 2014-2017.
