Rebel forces have declared Syria "free", saying the "tyrant" President Bashar al-Assad has left.
It is the end of a dark era and the beginning of a new one.
People who were displaced or were imprisoned by the Assad regime's half-century reign can now come home, the rebels say.
It will be a "new Syria" where "everyone lives in peace and justice prevails", HTS says.
Earlier we heard from Natasha Hall, a Middle East expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who said she believes we are witnessing the end of the Assad regime in Syria.
When asked what the dynamics are within the rebel forces who appear to have driven President Assad out, Hall said that the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has led the charge and is the “most disciplined and powerful” of all the groups involved.
She also says they appear to be the most independent of foreign forces, with other rebel factions operating under Turkey’s influence.
“It remains to be seen how coordination is going to go between these groups, especially Kurdish-operated groups in the north-east”.
There is deep-seated hostility between the Turkish state and the Kurds, who are stateless.
Rebel forces have been making a number of new announcements about the situation in Syria, now that President Bashar al-Assad appears to have fled the country.
The leader of the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has announced on Telegram that it is forbidden for military forces in the city to approach "public institutions" in Damascus.
Abu Mohammed al-Jolani adds that these institutions "will remain under the supervision of the former prime minister until they are officially handed over".
A quick recap
Here's a catch-up on fast-moving developments in Syria:
- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has left Damascus by plane to an unknown location, Reuters reports, quoting two Syrian officials
- Reports of his departure come as rebel group HTS say they have begun entering the Syrian capital
- The rebels also say they have freed inmates from Saydnaya prison where thousands of opposition supporters are said to have been tortured and executed
- Hezbollah, which is backed by Assad ally Iran, has withdrawn its soldiers from certain areas
- Earlier, the rebels entered Syria's third-largest city, Homs
