SYRIANS CELEBRATE FALL OF ASSAD FAMILY RULE

SYRIA's president Bashar al-Assad has fled Syria as Islamist-led rebels swept into Damascus on Sunday, triggering celebrations across the country and beyond at the end of his oppressive rule.

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Russian news agencies late Sunday said Assad and his family were in Moscow.

Crowds ransacked Assad's luxurious home after the rebels earlier Sunday declared he had fled, in a spectacular end to five decades of brutal Baath party rule.

The foreign ministry of Russia announced earlier on Sunday that Assad resigned from the presidency and left the country without saying where.

Residents in the capital were seen cheering in the streets as the rebel factions heralded the departure of "tyrant" Assad, saying: "We declare the city of Damascus free."