Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent, reporting from Turkish border with Syria

Image source, EPA

The end of the Assad rule will reshape the balance of power in the region. Iran, again, is seeing its influence suffer a significant blow. Syria under Assad was part of the connection between the Iranians and Hezbollah, the militia and political movement Iran supports in Lebanon. It was key for the transfer of weapons and ammunition to the group.

Hezbollah itself has been severely weakened after its war with Israel. In the most violent phase of the civil war, Iran sent advisers to Syria and Hezbollah deployed its fighters to help Assad crush the opposition. Russia, too, used its formidable air power. This time, however, they did not come to Assad’s rescue - and he was unable to survive on his own.

Iran has also seen the Houthis in Yemen being targeted in airstrikes. All these factions, plus militias in Iraq and Hamas in Gaza, form what Tehran describes as the Axis of Resistance, which has now been severely damaged.

This new picture will be celebrated in Israel, where Iran is viewed as an existential threat.

Many believe that this offensive could not have happened without the blessing of Turkey. For some time, President Erdogan had pressed Assad to engage in negotiations to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict that could allow the return of Syrian refugees. At least three million of them are in Turkey, and this is a sensitive issue locally. But Assad had refused to do so.

Turkey, which supports some of the rebels in Syria, has denied backing HTS, the Islamist group that led the insurgency.

HTS is sending conciliatory and diplomatic messages. But the dramatic changes could lead to a dangerous power vacuum and eventually result in chaos and even more violence.

• You can read more from Hugo here

In Damascus, rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani has addressed crowds at Umayyad mosque in the centre of the city.

He says Assad's regime "imprisoned thousands of its own citizens unjustly and without any crime", adding that "today, we are rewarded with this victory. This victory is for all Syrians."

A little earlier we brought you news that the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has spoken to crowds at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.

Stay with us, we'll be bringing you the latest from what Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani said.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

HTS leader not only player in Syria's fast-changing futurepublished at 15:43 Greenwich Mean Time 8 December

15:43 GMT 8 December

Lyse Doucet
Chief international correspondent

Image source, Reuters

The leader of Hayat Tahrir-al Shams, Abu Mohammad al-Jawlani, triumphantly announced "the capture of Damascus".

Now he's using his real name, Ahmed al-Sharaa, rather than his nom de guerre as a sign of his sudden rise to a much greater national role.

He's certain to play a decisive part in defining Syria's new order after this sudden stunning end to a half century of repressive rule by the Assad family. But the leader of an organisation proscribed by the UN as well as western governments is not the only pivotal player on Syria's fast shifting scene.

As the Islamist Hayat Tahrir-al Shams (HTS) pushed forward with astonishing speed, facing scant resistance, it sparked a rush by rebel forces in other regions of Syria as well as a surge of armed local groups keen to play a part in their own areas.

"Fighting the Assad regime was the glue that kept this de facto coalition together", says Thomas Juneau, Middle East expert at the University of Ottawa's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, who is also in Doha.

"Now that Assad has fled, continued unity among the groups that toppled him will be a challenge," he says.

• Continue reading about the new power dynamics in Syria here.

We're seeing reports that the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani, arrived in Damascus and has addressed crowds in the city's landmark Umayyad Mosque.

A video circulating online has shown him speaking to a number of people inside the mosque.

The AFP news agency reports that the crowd chanted "Allahu akbar (God is greatest)," citing a video shared by rebel groups on Telegram.

Image source, PA Media

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says he welcomes the fall of Bashar al-Assad's "barbaric regime".

The prime minister this afternoon called for "peace and stability" in the country.

"The developments in Syria in recent hours and days are unprecedented, and we are speaking to our partners in the region and monitoring the situation closely," he adds.

"The Syrian people have suffered under Assad's barbaric regime for too long and we welcome his departure."

David Gritten
BBC News

Bashar al-Assad has "left Syria", his ally Russia says. A number of flights have left the capital, but it is not known if Assad was on any of them.

The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported that a plane believed to be carrying Assad "left Syria via Damascus international airport before the army security forces left" the facility. He said he had information that the plane was meant to take off at 22:00 local time (19:00 GMT) on Saturday.

The Flightradar24 website did not record a departure around that time, although a Cham Wings Airlines Airbus A320 passenger plane did leave at around 00:56 local time on Sunday bound for Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The plane landed in Sharjah on time, but a diplomatic adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates told reporters that he did not know if Assad was in the UAE.

Image source, Reuters

Reuters news agency meanwhile cited two unnamed senior Syrian army officers as saying that Assad had boarded a Syrian Air plane at Damascus airport early on Sunday. It noted that a cargo plane took off from the airport at 03:59 local time with an undisclosed destination.

According to data from Flightradar24, after flying over the central city of Homs, the plane made a U-turn and started flying eastwards while also losing altitude. The signal from the plane was lost shortly afterwards.

Flightradar24 said in a post on X that the aircraft was old and "so some data might be bad or missing", and that it was "flying in an area of GPS jamming".

There have not been any reports of a plane crash in the same area.

Lina Sinjab
Reporting from Damascus

As the curfew gets under way, two explosions happened not too far from our hotel in Mezzeh.

We can see a plume of dark black smoke a few metres away from us.

The location is said to be the Marota City project, a housing development that belonged to businessmen under the Assad regime.

We have also been told there was another strike on Mezzeh airport behind us.

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

There have been few tears shed for the Assad regime - but there are widespread concerns about the impact of its demise.

The UN’s special envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, said it was a “watershed moment” but only one of “cautious hope”. A senior Emirati diplomat, Anwar Gargash, said Syria’s territorial integrity was threatened by the risk of chaos, extremism and terrorism.

Daniel Shapiro, a senior Pentagon official, said US forces would remain in eastern Syria to combat the so-called Islamic State group which, he said, could exploit the “chaotic and dynamic circumstances” to step up its operations.

The Turkish foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, said he hoped millions of Syrian refugees could now return home.

Turkey is in touch with rebels in Syria to make sure that "terrorist organisations" are not "taking advantage" of the situation, Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan said a little earlier.

He named the so-called Islamic State and the PKK, a Kurdish militant organisation, as the groups Turkey is particularly concerned about.

One of the key rebel factions in Syria - the Syrian National Army - is backed by Turkey.

"We have to be watchful during this transition period," Fidan said at the Doha Forum in Qatar.

He added that "any possible chemical weapons inventory or related materials must be secured" and that a new government body should be "inclusive of all parties", according to the Reuters news agency.

Image source, Getty Images

Leaders from several Western countries have welcomed news today that Bashar al-Assad's nearly 25-year rule has ended.

"Assad had fallen. This is how it has always been and will always be for dictators who bet on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. He always betrays those who rely on him," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga says on social media.

Calling for calm after an armed group entered the Italian ambassador's residence in Syria and took three cars, the country's foreign minister Antonio Tajani says: "We are calling for a peaceful handover between the fallen regime and the new reality, so for a peaceful rather than military transition. It seems to me that at the moment things are going in this direction."

Kaja Kallas, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, writes on X: "The end of Assad’s dictatorship is a positive and long-awaited development. It also shows the weakness of Assad’s backers, Russia and Iran."

She adds: "The process of rebuilding Syria will be long and complicated and all parties must be ready to engage constructively."

Image source, Reuters

We're hearing now from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who calls this a "historic day" for the Middle East. He vows to "take action against possible threats".

In a post on his official X account, Netanyahu says the collapse of the Assad regime "offers great opportunity", but caveats that it is also "fraught with significant dangers".

"This collapse is the direct result of our forceful action against Hezbollah and Iran, Assad's main supporters," he says.

"It set off a chain reaction of all those who want to free themselves from this tyranny and its oppression."

As a reminder, a Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire deal was agreed last month following 13 months of conflict.

Hezbollah has long been an ally to Assad.

Israel's "desire" is to establish "peaceful relations" with Syria - but Netanyahu says the country will defend itself if necessary.

As we've been reporting, crowds have gathered in cities across the world as many Syrians celebrate the fall of the Syrian government.

Below you can see images from Turkey, France, Berlin and Lebanon.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Damien McGuinness
Berlin correspondent

Image source, EPA

In Berlin thousands of Syrians are celebrating on the streets in various parts of the city.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has welcomed the fall of Assad as "good news".

Thousands of people are gathering for joyful celebrations on Oranienplatz in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg for a demonstration with the motto "solidarity with the Syrian revolution".

Banners read "our hope for democracy". The first demos started last night in the Berlin district of Neukölln, where many Syrian refugees have settled since 2015.

According to government estimates, there are thought to be almost a million Syrians in Germany.

Sebastian Usher
BBC Middle East regional editor

A Saudi Arabian official says the kingdom is communicating with all regional players in order to try to prevent chaos in Syria.

King Abdullah of Jordan - which neighbours Syria - has issued a similar message, calling for the avoidance of further conflict. As a precaution, his country has sealed its border with Syria.

A senior diplomatic official in the UAE, Anwar Gargash, has said his country's main concern is over extremism and terror - and blamed Assad for not using the lifeline offered to him by various Arab countries.

Israel has warned that it won't allow any hostile force to establish itself on its borders. But the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, says Assad's fall was a direct result of Israel's blows to Iran and Hezbollah.

Syrian anti-government rebels advanced with remarkable pace since launching a fresh offensive against Assad.

In October, the rebel group HTS - which has been at the centre of this push - controlled just a small territory in the north, near Turkey.

The group then advanced towards Aleppo, taking Hama just two days later. On Friday, HTS captured Homs, putting it on track towards the capital.

A little earlier we heard reports that the Iranian embassy in Damascus was attacked - and the Italian Foreign Minister now confirms an "armed group" entered its ambassador's home.

"This morning an armed group entered the garden of the headquarters of the ambassador’s residence," Antonio Tajani tells Italian journalists, according to news agency Ansa.

"They’ve taken three cars and that [was all]. Neither the ambassador nor the Carabinieri [military police] were touched."

Rebel fighters and members of the public have gathered in the Syrian capital Damascus to celebrate the end of President Bashar Al-Assad's regime.

The BBC's Lina Sinjab was drowned out by the sounds of celebratory gunfire as she reported from the scene earlier today.

Lina Sinjab
Reporting from Damascus

As we've been reporting, Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) announced a curfew in Damascus starting 16:00 local time (13:00 GMT).

People started to empty the streets as the announcement was made.

Residents in the city I managed to talk to say they are staying home and watching, but we can still hear lots of gunfire.

There is some artillery shelling too – but it is hard to tell where it is coming from.

One woman told me there will be a period of chaos but life will resume and things will certainly be better.

As we've been reporting, people have been seen walking into and looting the Damascus residence of deposed President Assad.

These pictures, from our reporters on the ground, show the scene inside the residence.

Damascus has now been placed under a curfew until 05:00 local time (02:00 GMT).