Image source, EPA

The sun has set on day three of Syria since the downfall Assad regime, and we are ending our live coverage for the day.

Today saw more refugees return to their homeland as interim Prime Minister Mohamed al-Bashir called on Syrians abroad to return home. Daily life is slowly returning, but at the same time, those who are now fearful for what may come next are planning their escape.

Rebels set ablaze the tomb of Hafez al-Assad, father of dictator Bashar al-Assad and his family - a sign of the deep hatred felt by those who suffered under the regime.

Meanwhile, Israel continued its strikes against the country's military facilities and faced calls to remove its troops from the buffer area.

Thank you for joining us today. While this page has now closed, this story will be kept up to date with the latest developments.

Tom Bateman
State Department correspondent, reporting from Maryland

I’m sitting at Andrews Air Force base, waiting for US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's motorcade to arrive ahead of his trip to the Middle East, as the administration rolls out a diplomatic operation following the fall Syria’s Assad regime.

We’ll be heading first to Aqaba, Jordan, where the State Department says the secretary will meet senior Jordanian government officials on Thursday.

We’ll then travel onto Ankara, Turkey.

The administration is trying to influence what comes next in Syria, aiming to build consensus with key Arab and Muslim countries over its demands for Damascus, saying the US will recognise and "fully support" a future government so long as it is inclusive of Syria’s sectarian and religious make-up, doesn’t threaten regional neighbours, and destroys any unconventional weapons stocks.

Image source, Photo by Costas Baltas/Anadolu via Getty Images

The Greek government has suspended all decisions on asylum applications from Syrians following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime.

Speaking on local radio, migration minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos says the temporary freeze would last until new data had been evaluated.

Greece is an entry point for many hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees into Europe.

Earlier this week, the UK government also announced that it would pause decisions on asylum claims from Syrians.

Throughout the day, we've been bringing you updates from Qardhaha in north-western Syria.

It's the site of the tomb of Bashar al-Assad's father Hafez, who ruled the country with an iron fist for 29 years before his death in 2000.

Images show a coffin set alight and fire burning in parts of the mausoleum - which is also the resting place of other members of the Assad family. Rebel fighters can also be seen brandishing the three-starred flag of independence.

Mapping the rebel forces occupying Deir al-Zour, north-east Syriapublished at 18:28 Greenwich Mean Time

18:28 GMT

Following our earlier post on Deir al-Zour in north-eastern Syria, we've been mapping the progress of rebel fighters as taking control of strategic points in the city overnight, following the reported withdrawal of Kurdish-led SDF forces.

In one video - a montage of six shots - we can place rebels at a major roundabout on the southern edge of the city. Celebrating crowds then meet the rebel advance about 300m further into the city, near a park called al-Dawwar Garden. The footage is interspersed with images from the entrance to the military airport 10km (six miles) to the south-east.

In every shot, key details can be matched from the videos to public satellite imagery: The overhead road sign pointing west to Raqqa and north-east to Iraq before entering the city, the distinctive flag parade at the roundabout, the monument at a T-junction before the park, and the grand airport gate with an eagle crest and a ruined poster of former president Bashar al-Assad.

The source of the video is al-Askari media, who have close links to the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group.

Image source, EPA

Amid the celebrations over the end of the Assad dynasty, there is some lingering anxiety over the place women will hold in the new Syrian era.

The interim government, led by rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has attempted to distance itself from its al-Qaeda-linked past, and some Syrian women spoke to the BBC World Service about their hopes for the future.

Remy, from Aleppo says "everyone was scared" during Assad's rule - not just women. She currently works as an orthodontist and teacher, and says that "working as a female now is a concern" due to HTS’ previous associations.

She adds: “The whole new government holds no women. It’s all men.” But, Remy says that she’s “optimistic” that the Syrian people will be able to elect female ministers in the future.

Souad, in Damascus says "nothing could match the cruelty of the Assad regime” where it would have been impossible for women to report harassment to the police, observing: “The people who harass you… they are the police.”

She says that she and her family cried when they learnt of Assad’s removal from power. “We are really, really happy that Damascus - and Syria - is free after 53 years of oppression,” she says.

Lucy Williamson
BBC Middle East Correspondent

The Damascus neighbourhood of Joubar is suddenly a place of reunions. Neighbours, returning today for the first time in years, were spotting each other with open delight through its powdery ruins.

This old opposition stronghold on the frontlines of Syria’s civil war sits like a dead tooth in the bustling streets around it. More than 90% of the neighbourhood has been destroyed, pummelled almost to dust by President Assad’s forces; its rebel fighters long ago pushed out and its residents forced to leave.

Monawwar al Qahef and her husband Muhammad came back today for the first time in 12 years. The two-storey house they left, and the rooftop barbecue the family had loved, is now just a pile of concrete rocks around a single arched wall. So thoroughly demolished, it was hard to differentiate the rooms, or tell where the entrance had been.

“This is the first time we dared to come back,” Muhammad told me, standing in the rubble of his old neighbourhood. “I feel as if it’s me that has been broken into pieces.”

They had cried on seeing the house, they said, but there was little softness for the servants of Assad’s regime, blamed for their eviction.

“Killing them instantly is too easy,” Monawwar said. “I want them to be in our shoes, to feel the torment and agony we felt – to wish they were dead.”

Loss of Hmeimim air base would be a disaster for Russia, says expertpublished at 17:08 Greenwich Mean Time

17:08 GMT

Since 2015, Russia has used Hmeimim air base to support President Bashar al-Assad's forces, launching bombing raids on opposition forces across the country.

Russia has also used the base as a hub to transport mercenary forces across the region and into Africa, where first the Wagner Group and now the so-called Africa Corps have been aiding pro-Russian regimes. As we reported earlier, there is no sign of an imminent evacuation of the base.

But Anton Mardasov - a non-resident scholar in the Middle East Institue's Syria programme - told the BBC that the base was essential to Moscow's influence across the Middle East and Africa.

Mardasov noted that if the new Syrian authorities expelled Russian forces from the country, the loss of the base would "deprive Moscow of the opportunity to project power in the region and pose a threat on NATO's southern flank".

"It was the modernised runways of Hmeimim that has allowed the Russian military to deploy strategic bombers that could potentially carry nuclear weapons."

"If the facilities are completely evacuated, it will certainly hit Russia's political, economic and military influence in Africa hard, since aircraft loaded with equipment cannot fly to Africa without a jump-off airfield, and their aerial refuelling is also problematic for a number of reasons" he added.

Image source, Getty Images

If you're just checking in with us now, here are today's key developments in Syria and beyond:

• Syrian rebels have set fire to the tomb of ex-President Bashar al-Assad's father,Hafez al-Assad, who ruled the country for 29 years until his death in 2000
• Iran blamed the fall of the Assad regime on the US and Israel. Speaking earlier today, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said an unnamed "neighbouring state" of Syria was also involved
• Israel has continued to target the Syrian military's arsenal, according to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (SOHR), which reports more than 350 Israeli air strikes on Syrian provinces since Sunday
• The Israeli government said those who now control large parts of Syria should not have the means to threaten Israel. Arab states have criticised the strikes
• Our correspondents have been speaking with those in Syria over recent days. One shop worker this morning said they've been able to reopen "without fear", while a mother whose teenage son was tortured and killed in 2011 said she hopes Assad will "pay the price"

• Syria's new transitional prime minster has said people can now "enjoy stability and calm"
• Syrian rebel forces say they have taken control of the oil-rich eastern city of Deir al-Zour from Kurdish forces as they try to secure the country's resources

Image source, Getty Images

Earlier today, rebel fighters torched the tomb of Hafez al-Assad, the father of deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The BBC has now seen more footage of the events in Qardaha, northwestern Syria, where three-starred flags - the symbol of Syria’s opposition - were displayed next to a smouldering coffin.

One man, Tarek Nassif, tells AFP’s cameras that they came to the graves of Hafez, his wife Anisa and his eldest son Bassel "to take a look at these filthy people, because they oppressed the entire Syrian people."

Another Latakia resident, Mohammad Nassif adds: “We came and saw it be burnt and destroyed by the people of his village because he starved them, because they hated him, and because he destroyed us, he displaced them and displaced us."

Image source, Getty Images

Russian ships move from Syria base amid doubts over futurepublished at 16:24 Greenwich Mean Time

16:24 GMT

Image source, Maxar

Russian naval vessels appear to have temporarily left their main port in Syria, satellite images reviewed by BBC Verify show, amid continuing uncertainty about Moscow's military future in the country after the fall of its ally, Bashar al-Assad.

Images taken by Maxar on 10 December show some ships have left Tartous naval base since Sunday and are currently sitting offshore in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Tartous naval facility houses elements of the Black Sea Fleet and is Russia's only repair and replenishment hub in the Mediterranean. Established by the Soviet Union in the 1970s, it was expanded and modernised by Russia in 2012 as the Kremlin began to increase its support for President Assad's regime.

The new satellite images show Moscow has at least temporarily brought its ships out of the port, with two guided missile frigates moored about 13km (eight miles) off the Syrian coast. It is unclear where the remainder of the fleet currently is.

Meanwhile, activity has continued at Russia's other main military facility in Syria, Khmeimim air base. Satellite images reviewed by BBC Verify showed at least two large jets - identified by the Janes open-source intelligence organisation as IL-76 transport aircraft - still sitting on the tarmac on 10 December. Helicopters could also be seen at the base in the images.

Janes also notes that air defence systems deployed at the site remain visible.

Read more from our report here.

Image source, EPA

France says Israel needs to remove its military presence from the Golan Heights.

Over the past few days, we've been reporting how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed his troops to protect the country’s border with Syria by stationing themselves in a buffer zone in the area.

"Any military deployment in the separation zone between Israel and Syria is a violation of the disengagement agreement of 1974," a French foreign ministry spokesman says in a statement today.

"France calls on Israel to withdraw from the zone and to respect Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock took a similar stance on achieving a peaceful transition in Syria, noting: “[Israel] must not jeopardise the process with their actions.”

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

There are essentially three ways IS could pose a threat in the new Syria:

1. A prison breakout: If the Syrian Kurds who guard the prisons and camps holding IS captives come under so much military pressure from Turkey and its allied militia there is a risk then the Kurds could be forced to abandon them. IS has long vowed to free its captives and rebuild its presence in the region
2. Infiltration of HTS: The leadership of the main victorious rebel group, HTS, formally split from Al-Qaeda (AQ) in 2016. But AQ have wasted no time in calling on the Islamist rebels to now turn their guns on non-Muslims. The new government will need to be wary of infiltration by either IS or AQ.
3. General confusion: Syria - or at least much of it - has spent the last 54 years in the grip of a brutally repressive authoritarian regime. Recent examples in the Arab world have tended to point to chaos following the removal of such regimes. IS operatives hide out mainly in the thinly governed or ungoverned space of the Syrian desert. Containing them will add to the challenges facing the new government in Damascus.

America is taking no chances here. To prevent and discourage Islamic State (IS) from trying to take advantage of the change of regime in Syria the US Air Force has conducted dozens of strikes on their positions in central Syria.

Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter

A Christian woman who lives on Syria's coast has been telling me she plans to leave because she thinks the country is "unsafe". Her bags are packed and she is waiting for the airport to re-open.

For her own safety, she asked to remain anonymous, and to communicate via WhatsApp messages rather than by phone.

She lives in a Christian neighbourhood, where the mood on the streets is "a combination of celebrations, with celebratory bullets flying all over...and tense and fear. We are walking on eggshells."

Her friend who tried to leave by land via Lebanon was denied entry at the border.

"Our only hope of leaving is the opening of airports,” she says. "Syria is lawless. At any point someone may shoot someone else without repercussions."

"We are staying home to protect our houses. We feel unsafe."

She says she is not sure whether to trust the statements made by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani that Christians will be safe.

"Do they believe in the extermination of Christians?" she asks. "I am very anxious of being stuck here with no way out."

She says she felt safer as a Christian under President Assad.

The numbers of Christians living in Syria have fallen since the onset of the country's civil war in 2011. Estimates suggest about 300,000 Christians remain in the country, but the demographic previously made up about 10% of the population.

Image source, EPA

While we're seeing a semblance of normality return to some cities there are still concerns about what comes next - especially among Christians.

When Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took control of Idlib in the north west, they shut churches and banned displays of Christianity. But, more recently HTS has sought to cleanse itself of its former associations with al-Qaeda.

The leader of a Christian organisation tells our colleagues on the World at One programme that HTS has been in contact and welcomed Christians to be a part of a “new Syria”.

“It doesn’t mean that we are completely at ease with everything,” says Father Vincent De Beaucoudrey, the Syria director of the Jesuit refugee service.

Despite this, Father Vincent says there have been “good signs” from HTS, giving an example where the group helped distribute bread at a time of short supply.

And, with Christmas around the corner, he described how he has been heartened to see that the sight of Christmas decorations going up around Aleppo - with the approval of HTS - has not created tensions.

Lina Sinjab
Reporting from Damascus

Image source, BBC/Lina Sinjab

Turning back to the Syrian capital, Damascus, businesses are making a return. We visited the famous Bakdash ice-cream shop. This is the traditional Damascene ice cream with pistachio.

It's really one of the iconic stops for all Syrians, but also for foreigners who come across the world to try this ice cream.

We are in the heart of the old Bazaar and it's bustling, lots of people out and about enjoying themselves and repeating the rituals that they've lived through.

Syria is rich with small, medium and even big businesses and industries, with textiles and many other forms of products being produced locally.

If other businesses pick up like this one, it won't take much for the country to be thriving again.

Videos confirm rebel presence at Deir al-Zour, north-east Syriapublished at 14:28 Greenwich Mean Time

14:28 GMT

By Paul Brown

BBC Verify has analysed two videos from Deir al-Zour showing rebel fighters taking control of key sites in the city following the reported withdrawal of Kurdish-led SDF forces from the city.

The city, in Syria's north-east, has been somewhat separated from the rapid rebel advance from Idlib to Damascus. Last week, Reuters quoted security sources saying that the Kurdish-led SDF had taken control of Deir al-Zour city following the withdrawal of regime forces.

Now control appears to have shifted again – this time to the rebels.

In one clip released late yesterday, rebel forces are seen at the government office in the centre of the city. Here, the location was confirmed thanks to the building's distinctive architecture which is visible on publicly available imagery.

Another clip, published overnight by rebel-affiliated media shows a drive through the grounds of the Deir al-Zour airport. The footage is dark and grainy, but there is sufficient detail to confirm the location, by matching visible, but features to satellite imagery.

These videos confirm rebel presence at either end of the city, 10km (6.2 miles) apart.

Image source, Al-Askari Media

A patchwork of groups have control over different parts of Syria. Rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) recently took control of the country's capital, Damascus, toppling the Assad regime, 13 years after the start of the country's civil war.

While many in the country are celebrating the downfall of a family dynasty that ruled Syria with an iron fist, the future is uncertain and the situation on the ground remains in flux, with a number of different rebel groups controlling different parts of the country.

Overnight, HTS forces claimed to have taken control of the oil-rich eastern city Deir al-Zour from Kurdish forces.

Barbara Plett Usher
Reporting from Damascus

Russia has a naval base and an air base in Syria and the Kremlin has said Moscow is in contact with the new leadership to discuss their fate.

The spokesman has criticized Israel for bombing Syrian military installations and setting up a buffer zone along the Golan Heights in the south of the country, saying these actions risked destabilising Syria.

Bashar al-Assad’s other main ally, Iran, accuses Israel and the US of plotting his downfall, (along with an unnamed neighbouring state, an apparent reference to Turkey).

But the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, insists Iran will not be weakened by Assad’s fall from power.

Another country in the region, Qatar, announced that it planned to reopen its embassy in Damascus.

While in the capital, the new interim prime minister says he wants to bring millions of Syrian refugees back home, protect civilians and provide basic services. But that would be difficult, he says, because the country doesn’t have foreign currency.

Syria's new interim Prime Minister, Mohamed al-Bashir, has called on Syrians who fled the Assad regime and are seeking asylum across the globe to "come back".

In an interview with the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera, external, al-Bashir says his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) government is "inheriting a bloated administration plagued by corruption" and insists he will only remain in office until March 2025

He says Syria's finances are in a "very bad state" with no foreign reserves, but the transition PM says one of his top priorities is to restore security and stability in Syria.

Al-Bashir's second objectives include attempts to bring back millions of Syrian refugees who are seeking asylum around the world. "Come back," he tells the Italian newspaper. "We need to rebuild, to get our country on its feet again and we need everyone's help."

Another priority for al-Bashir is to tackle the "precariousness" of essential services in Syria such as electricity, food and water.