Syria War Live Updates: Ousted Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and his family have been granted asylum in Russia, hours after the Islamist-led rebels took control of his country. The rebel alliance, led by Islamist leader Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, launched its offensive on November 27. Since then, Aleppo – the second largest city, and Hamas fell to them. On Sunday, hours after announcing full control of Homs, the third main city in the nation, the rebels also took control of the capital Damascus.
Syria’s civil war, which began with Assad’s crackdown on democracy protests, has killed more than 5,00,000 people and forced more than half the population to flee their homes. According to the United Nations, the violence has displaced 3.7 lakh people.
In a first reaction from the US, President Joe Biden said Assad should be “held accountable” and called the nation’s political upheaval a “historic opportunity” for Syrians to rebuild their country.