Assad to flee Syria with Moscow having become convinced that he would lose against the insurgents rapidly advancing on Damascus, sources have said. Moscow offered Mr Assad a safe exit if he left the country immediately as the rebel forces led by former al-Qaeda offshoot Hayat Tahir al-Sham (HTS) approached,

Defence Studies Centre senior fellow Matthew Sussex says the demise of the Assad regime in Syria represents a “significant blow” to Moscow and Vladimir Putin.

We know there are thousands of people kept in those prisons. We don’t know how many are still alive, released, or dead. For years, people have been disappeared, with families not knowing where their loved ones are,