Summary

  1. Your Questions Answered

    What does this mean for Iran?published at 13:24 Greenwich Mean Time 9 December 2024

    Caroline Hawley
    Diplomatic correspondent

    Neville in Devon asks: Will other totalitarian regimes like Iran be concerned unrest could spread to them?

    Syria was Iran's main strategic ally, and part of an important land route to supply Hezbollah with weapons in Lebanon. Hezbollah too had propped up the Assad regime.

    Assad told the Iranians he was surprised by how quickly his forces were collapsed. He no longer really had the support of Russia, which was preoccupied with the war in Ukraine. Iran has also been preoccupied since the 7 October attacks on Israel - and the ensuing war in Gaza.

    Interestingly, the the loss of Assad won't have any operational impact on Hezbollah, the Iranians are saying. But Hezbollah is in pretty poor shape after fighting against Israeli forces in Lebanon for months.

    It will be interesting to see what will happen with the Islamic republic in Iran, which is unpopular in the country. I imagine there is a bit of soul-searching going on there.

  2. Your Questions Answered

    What happens to Syrian refugees now?published at 13:18 Greenwich Mean Time 9 December 2024

    Lina Shaikhouni
    BBC World Service

    The UN's refugee agency has described Syria as the world's largest refugee crisis - millions have been forced out of their homes since 2011. Some of them are in Europe, but most of them are in Turkey and other neighbouring countries.

    I watched with a lot of other Syrians as news came out of Bashar al-Assad's regime falling at the weekend, and so many people were asking the question "when are we going to go back home?"

    So many are hopeful for that day when they touch Syrian soil, everyone wants to go back home - but what we need to bear in mind is there has been a lot of destruction in the country.

    In the immediate future, nothing is clear about stability and the political makeup of the new government, or what's going to happen on the ground.

    But there are also concerns over where these people are going to go back to.

    A lot of homes have been destroyed in the war and there haven't been reports of massive reconstruction efforts in these area since being recaptured by the Assad government.

    In some places, there have been projects to rebuild and put up large buildings in those areas, but nothing about the owners of the land - do they have still homes there?

    So that is a big question for people coming back. Everyone wants to go, but the timescale of it is not yet clear.

    A map shows Syria and its neighbouring countries Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Israel
  3. Your Questions Answered

    What do we know about HTS?published at 13:02 Greenwich Mean Time 9 December 2024

    Frank Gardner
    Security correspondent

    Dr Salim Nayani in Leicester asks: HTS is designated a terror organisation in the UK. Do you think it will a repeat of Taliban?

    HTS is an acronym that stands for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an organisation for the liberation of greater Syria.

    It grew out of the original Arab Spring protests, a movement that erupted across the Middle East in 2011.

    The unrest started in Syria when some boys graffitied "the people demand the downfall of the regime" on a school wall.

    They were arrested and taken to a police station where they were beaten and abused, and one was mutilated. Infuriated crowds came out to peacefully protest, but this was met with bullets and imprisonment - and then the revolution began.

    It began as a sort of democratic, peaceful uprising, but this got taken over by an extremist Islamist group - and that in turn has morphed into HTS.

    This is one of the reasons why it still has the proscribed terrorist tag on it in many countries, which we can probably assume is going to be dropped before too long. But nevertheless, for a while, they were linked to al-Qaeda and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the late leader of IS.

    All of that was a long time ago, and HTS split formally from al-Qaeda in 2016. In the last eight years, they have been ruling an area in north-west Syria.

    People have lived fairly normal lives under their rule - not massively democratic - but okay lives I'm told. The test now is if HTS will be true to their word to govern for all Syrians.

    That is a challenge in a country like Syria which is a patchwork of communities like Sunni Muslims, Shia Muslims, Christians, Kurds and all other minorities.

    You can also read more about HTS in this explainer.

  4. The fate of the disappeared remains a chief concernpublished at 12:53 Greenwich Mean Time 9 December 2024

    Barbara Plett Usher
    Reporting from Damascus

    We’ve visited the notorious Saydnaya prison on the outskirts of Damascus.

    The rebels who took over the capital yesterday say they freed more than 3,500 prisoners here.

    But it’s believed by some that more could be trapped in hidden underground cells, and the Syrian civil defence group known as the White Helmets has joined the search.

    Thousands of opposition supporters are said to have been tortured and killed in Saydnaya by the Assad regime. When we arrived there was a steady stream of people climbing the steep hill to the prison, crowding around its entrance eager for any news.

    Inside, investigators were pounding the ground in a cellar apparently used for storing fuel, searching for an entrance to underground cells.

    A member of the White Helmets told us there was no floor plan to indicate prisoners were trapped underground, only accounts from former inmates.

    Dozens of men sifted through mounds of documents scattered on the floor, looking for clues to the hidden cells - or the whereabouts of their loved one.

    For many, the fate of prisoners still missing is the most pressing issue now that Assad has fallen.

  5. Your Questions Answered

    What is it like in Syria at the moment?published at 12:43 Greenwich Mean Time 9 December 2024

    Lina Sinjab
    Middle East correspondent, in Damascus

    As the day started, Damascus was slowly waking up, but by midday, the city was busy with lots of people out and about in the streets. There is a celebratory mood - with some rebels gathering around, many civilians are shooting into the air and singing revolutionary songs.

    HTS fighters have been deployed to protect government buildings, such as the Central Bank in the main square. One fighter I spoke to said their main duty was to liberate the country from Assad, and now they protect its property because it belongs to all people.

    Some things like restaurants and shops are opening up again today, ordinary people are regaining trust and slowly coming out to practice their daily life.

    Follow along as our experts answer your questions by hitting Watch Live at the top of this page, or turning on the BBC News Channel.

  6. Your Questions Answered

    What happens now? And your other key questionspublished at 12:33 Greenwich Mean Time 9 December 2024

    While our correspondents are answering your questions live above, here's a quick look at some of the most pressing questions you have been asking so far:

    Where is Syria on the map?

    Syria is in the Middle East, on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Lebanon and Israel to the west, Iraq to the east, and Jordan to the south.

    What has happened in Syria?

    President Bashar Al-Assad's regime in Syria has fallen, after a sudden offensive by Islamist and other allied rebel groups. The offensive lasted just 12 days and saw two key cities - Homs and the capital Damascus - taken over the weekend with little bloodshed.

    Who are the Syrian rebels?

    The rebels are spearheaded by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). It's led by Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, who in recent years has sought to transform his public image - from jihadist leader to rebel politician. He's even ditched his nom-de-guerre, now going by real name Ahmed al-Sharaa.

    Who is Assad and where is he now?

    Deposed Syrian President Assad and his family had ruled Syria with an iron fist for decades. After his regime fell on Sunday, they were granted asylum in Russia, according to state media reports. Russia has long been a staunch ally of Assad's, having intervened extensively in the war on his behalf for years.

    What happens in Syria now?

    The leader of HTS now faces a difficult balancing act, writes the BBC's security correspondent, Frank Gardner. That's between imposing discipline on his forces, but also being sufficiently democratic to follow through on his promise to govern more inclusively. He's also aware that to gain international acceptance, he'll need to keep the more hardline elements of his group in check.

    What about Syrian refugees?

    Many that fled Syria under the Assad regime are now thought to be returning. There are already queues at one border crossing with Turkey, which hosts more Syrian refugees than any other country - around 3.3 million people.

  7. BBC experts answer your questions on Syriapublished at 12:27 Greenwich Mean Time 9 December 2024

    Emily Atkinson
    Live page editor

    Crowds have gathered in the centre of Syria's capital Damascus to celebrate the fall of the Assad regime, bringing the family's 50-year rule to a sudden end.

    The swift offensive by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied rebel factions started just 12 days ago. The coalition quickly captured Aleppo, before sweeping southwards to Damascus. The military then collapsed and former president Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia.

    People in Syria today describe their tentative hope, and their fears, as they look towards an uncertain future.

    The details as to how we got here are complex, and the questions over what comes next numerous.

    So, coming up at 12:30 GMT, the BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner, diplomatic correspondent Caroline Hawley, Middle East correspondent Lina Sinjab and the World Service's Lina Shaikhouni will be answering them.

    We'll update you on all the key lines - and you can follow along on the BBC News Channel or by hitting Watch live at the top of this page.

  8. White Helmets offer $3,000 reward for secret prison informationpublished at 12:17 Greenwich Mean Time 9 December 2024

    The White Helmets, a civil defence group in Syria, has said it will give a $3,000 (£2,350) reward for anyone who provides information that directly leads to the identification of secret prisons previously used by the Assad regime.

    In a post on X, the group appeals specifically to former security officers and those working in the security branches and assured them their identities will remain confidential.

    The White Helmets also ask families to not dig in the prisons themselves, as this could lead to the destruction of physical evidence needed to "support efforts of justice".

    Teams of people, some with helmets, carry out investigations inside the Sednaya military prisonImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Efforts continue at the Sednaya military prison in Damascus to free detainees

  9. Golan Heights buffer zone takeover is temporary, says Israelpublished at 12:06 Greenwich Mean Time 9 December 2024

    Israeli tanks cross a security fence into the buffer zone with SyriaImage source, EPA
    Image caption,

    Israeli tanks crossed the security fence into the buffer zone with Syria yesterday

    At his media conference in Jerusalem earlier, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar characterised the military takeover of the buffer zone between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria as a "limited and temporary step" to secure Israel's security.

    Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the army to "take control" of the buffer zone. He said the disengagement agreement with Syria, which established the demilitarised area in 1974, had "collapsed" with the fall of the Assad regime.

    Israel seized the Golan from Syria in the closing stages of the 1967 Six-Day War and unilaterally annexed it in 1981. The move was not recognised internationally, although the US did so unilaterally in 2019.

    Pictures from the Golan Heights - a rocky plateau about 60km (40 miles) south-west of Damascus - showed Israeli troops crossing into the buffer zone yesterday.

    Map showing the buffer zone between Golan Heights and Syria
  10. Israel hits 'suspected' chemical weapons sites in Syriapublished at 12:00 Greenwich Mean Time 9 December 2024

    Yolande Knell
    Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

    Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has confirmed that Israel attacked suspected chemical weapons and missile stores in Syria saying that this was to stop them falling into the hands of extremist factions.

    “The only interest we have is the security of Israel and its citizens,” he told journalists.

    Media reports suggest there have been dozens of Israeli air strikes in the past day or so, including on a site in Damascus said to have been used for rocket development by Iranian scientists.

    Israel’s military has released pictures showing Israeli soldiers who crossed from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights into the demilitarised buffer zone.

    Israeli officials say they have also taken up military posts abandoned by Syrian forces without specifying whether they have moved into Syrian-held territory on the strategically important, mountainous plateau.

    Saar reiterated that the Israeli military had entered Syrian-held territory as a temporary, defensive move to prevent cross-border attacks. He said it would “prevent an October 7 scenario from Syria”.

  11. Relatives wait for news of loved ones as prisoners freedpublished at 11:36 Greenwich Mean Time 9 December 2024

    Dr Rim Turkmani

    For many Syrian families, today marks a moment of celebration as loved ones are freed from prisons where they have been held for years by government forces.

    But, for Dr Rim Turkmani, the director of the Syria Conflict Research Programme at London School of Economics, the change in power also brings an anxious wait for news about the safety of her relatives.

    “Suddenly all the wounds are opening, everything is coming to the fore”, she tells BBC 5Live before describing how her cousin had been detained in the Saydnaya prison in 2016 when he was 18 years old.

    And, amid videos of prisoners being broken out, Dr Turkmani says her cousin’s mother is still yet to hear from him.

    “She’s sitting there waiting for news about her son…We know nothing about him,” she explains. “Every moment she texts me, ‘any news? Did you find anything?’ We’re watching every video, every picture, and there are hundreds of thousands of them.

    “So imagine how many wounds are opening right now, how many mothers are waiting for their loved ones.”

  12. Where is Syria?published at 11:21 Greenwich Mean Time 9 December 2024

    Syria is located in the Middle East, on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

    It borders Turkey to the north, Lebanon and Israel to the west and southwest, Iraq to the east and Jordan to the south.

    Some 22 million people live in Syria. But more than a decade of civil conflict has forced millions to flee.

    Turkey hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees, with 3.3 million people fleeing to the country, and 1.5 million live in Lebanon, according to the UN.

    Map showing Syria and its neighbours
  13. Analysis

    A difficult balancing actpublished at 11:06 Greenwich Mean Time 9 December 2024

    Frank Gardner
    Security correspondent

    Abu Mohammed Al-Jawlani speaks to supportersImage source, Reuters

    Ahmed Al-Sharaa, the leader of the victorious rebel group HTS, has ditched his former nom-de-guerre of Abu Mohammed Al-Jolani as he seeks to further distance himself and his group from their jihadist past.

    He now faces a difficult balancing act between, on the one hand, imposing enough discipline on his forces to prevent more looting or any arbitrary score-settling, and on the other, being sufficient democratic that he follows through on his promise to govern Syria inclusively.

    Much is being said, rightly, about HTS’s former links with al-Qaeda and even with the IS group, through its late leader, the notoriously cruel butcher and rapist, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.

    But al-Sharaa is so far playing a clever game. He knows that for Syria’s new government to succeed, and attract international acceptance and support, he needs to keep the more hardline elements of his group in check.

    Over the weekend, even Sir John Sawers, the former chief of MI6, said it would be "ridiculous" if the British government refused to deal with Syria’s new rulers. The test, of course, will be not in their promises but in their actions.

    Everyone remembers the cheerful undertakings given by the victorious Taliban when they took power in 2021, and how they then turned that country into a living prison for women and so became an international pariah.

  14. 'I met two Saydnaya prisoners who did not know their own names'published at 11:03 Greenwich Mean Time 9 December 2024

    Gabriela Pomeroy
    Live reporter

    Sharvan Ibesh visited Saydanaya prison yesterday to look for his friend's fatherImage source, Sharvan Ibesh
    Image caption,

    Sharvan Ibesh visited Saydanaya prison yesterday to look for his friend's father

    I've been speaking to a man who visited Saydnaya prison at midnight yesterday to try to find his friend's father who has been held in the prison for 13 years.

    Dr Sharvan Ibesh - chief executive of the NGO Bahar, which does humanitarian work in Syria - did not find him.

    "It was very disappointing and we got no information," Ibesh says.

    When he arrived at the prison, it was was "chaos", he says. "Hundreds of people were coming out of the prison and we were told we could not come in because so many people were getting in the way of the rescuers".

    "My friend is so upset because for 13 years she dreamed of finding her father. We were told that many prisoners have been moved to another location."

    Ibesh also visited the al-Salam mosque in Damascus yesterday, where hundreds of prisoners from Saydnaya were taken to be looked after and families were also visiting to see if they could find their relatives.

    Ibesh says he met two men at the mosque who had been held for several years in the prison.

    "They were disorientated," says Ibesh. "They don’t even know the time zone."

    "People around them were asking 'what's your name' and 'how old are you'?, but they could not even answer those questions," Ibesh says.

    It was hard to tell how old they were from looking at them. "The men were totally lost, they were just starring ahead," Ibesh says.

    Sharvan Ibesh sent us this photo of the mosque where prisoners released from Saydnaya are being taken to meet their familiesImage source, Sharvan Ibesh
    Image caption,

    Sharvan Ibesh sent us this photo of the mosque in Damascus where prisoners released from Saydnaya are being taken to meet their families

  15. Latest pictures as investigations continue at Damascus prisonpublished at 10:58 Greenwich Mean Time 9 December 2024

    Investigations are continuing at the Saydnaya military prison, a notorious complex in the Syrian capital, after reports emerged that inmates are being detained in underground cells.

    Syrian civil defence group, White Helmets, says so far it has "not found any of the secret doors being talked about" - but will continue searching with the help of people "who know the prison's entrances and secret passages".

    Here are some of the latest images from the search:

    A team in the Sednaya military prison look through a hole in the floorImage source, Getty Images
    A list of text found inside the Sednaya military prison in DamascusImage source, Getty Images
    Teams continue to investigate allegations of a secret compartment in Sednaya Military Prison and attempt to break down a wallImage source, Getty Images
  16. Listen: The final hours of the Assad regimepublished at 10:51 Greenwich Mean Time 9 December 2024

    On the latest episode of The Global Story podcast, Azadeh Moshiri speaks to BBC Middle East correspondent Lina Sinjab, who became one of the first western journalists to report from Damascus after former President Assad fled.

    She describes seeing some Syrians celebrating, while others looted Assad's former home.

    Also on today's podcast, chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet explains what the future might hold for the country.

  17. Watch: Chanting as crowds celebrate in Damascuspublished at 10:29 Greenwich Mean Time 9 December 2024

    It's early afternoon in Damascus, and some small crowds appear to have gathered in the centre of the capital to celebrate Assad's ousting.

    In the footage below, a group is seen chanting and raising their fists in the air.

    Media caption,

    Watch: Chanting as crowds gather in Damascus

  18. End of Assad regime 'brings a lot of hope'published at 10:21 Greenwich Mean Time 9 December 2024

    People hold a large Syrian opposition flag at Umayyad Square in DamascusImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    People hold a large Syrian opposition flag at Umayyad Square in Damascus

    The toppling of the Assad regime "brings a lot of hope", says one Syrian who was arrested and tortured under the Assad regime.

    Qutaiba Idlbi, a senior fellow at the international affairs think-tank the Atlantic Council, tells BBC Newsday that it is finally "closing a chapter on at least 13 years of civil war".

    He says he has "hope for the future". "A lot of people are putting aside any ideas for revenge... and really just looking for what's coming next".

    One of his main concerns, Idlbi adds, is whether the international community will be able to successfully help bring different groups together, and take this "once in a lifetime" opportunity for a political transition in Syria.

  19. Syrian rebel flag raised over embassy in Moscowpublished at 10:07 Greenwich Mean Time 9 December 2024

    The flag of Syrian rebel groups has been installed at the embassy in Moscow by members of the Syrian diaspora.

    The move is particularly symbolic as Russia has been a staunch ally of the Assad regime and supported the country's president Bashar al-Assad during the country's protracted 13-year civil war.

    And, as we've just reported, the Kremlin has confirmed that President Putin personally decided to grant Assad and his family asylum in Russia.

    A view shows the Syrian rebel flag installed on the building of the embassy of Syria in Moscow.Image source, Reuters
    Members of the Syrian diaspora install the opposition flag on the building of the Embassy of Syria in MoscowImage source, Reuters
  20. Putin personally granted Assad asylum - Kremlinpublished at 10:02 Greenwich Mean Time 9 December 2024

    Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-AssadImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad pictured together in Syria in December 2017

    As we've been reporting, deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family have been granted asylum in Russia, according to state media there.

    Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov now says in his daily briefing that President Vladimir Putin personally made the decision to do so - but declines to confirm Assad's whereabouts.

    Peskov also does not say when Putin and Assad met last, and adds that they have no plans to do so in the near future.

    Peskov stresses that Russia is ready to maintain contacts “with those who will be in power in Syria".