<b>Assad rule ends in Syria</b> Celebrations erupted in Damascus yesterday as crowds stormed President Bashar Al Assad's palace, hours after rebels swept into the capital and announced he had fled the country. The dramatic collapse of his regime marked the end of decades of Assad family rule. But uncertainty looms over what comes next. <i>The National's </i>team is on the ground <a href="https://are01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fthenationalnews.us17.list-manage.com%2Ftrack%2Fclick%3Fu%3D1ab095d6dadf74dab01e8d238%26id%3D909d8b8d99%26e%3D83097a3be5&data=05%7C02%7Cwalbadry%40thenationalnews.com%7C4c656dcf0aa0411c948808dd181ff956%7Ce52b6fadc5234ad692ce73ed77e9b253%7C0%7C0%7C638693247818422112%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=gujwK41wQKVkQKKkkrAw3hnfZjnEIDPAjCiFfLyrCWg%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank">reporting</a> from the Syrian capital. Assad and his family have arrived in Russia, where they have been granted asylum, Russian news agencies reported, quoting a Kremlin source. Follow live updates <a href="https://are01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fthenationalnews.us17.list-manage.com%2Ftrack%2Fclick%3Fu%3D1ab095d6dadf74dab01e8d238%26id%3Dec17e90e49%26e%3D83097a3be5&data=05%7C02%7Cwalbadry%40thenationalnews.com%7C4c656dcf0aa0411c948808dd181ff956%7Ce52b6fadc5234ad692ce73ed77e9b253%7C0%7C0%7C638693247818436488%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=0rLG%2Fm7DijvpiQjKEliFpY8VknZIgJYF1l30f050WJE%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank">here</a>. In the photo, A woman walks past security barriers as Syrian migrants wait in line to cross into Syria, at the Cilvegozu border gate in Hatay province, Turkey. More than 3.5 million Syrians are registered with the UN’s refugee agency in Turkey. That makes the country the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2024/06/07/syrians-in-turkey-struggle-against-mounting-obstacles-and-restrictions/" target="_blank">largest host of Syrians</a> who fled their homes after a brutal crackdown on the 2011 anti-government protests, which spiraled into civil war. In figures released three days before Mr Al Assad’s fall, Turkey’s migration management authority said that the number of registered Syrians in the country was down to 2.9 million – the disparity in the government and UN numbers is attributable to both voluntary and forced returns that preceded the rebels' advances into Damascus. <b>Happening today</b> <b>IN CASE YOU MISSED IT …</b> The Syrian conflict was never as stagnant as it seemed, <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/2024/12/06/syria-conflict-rebels-aleppo-bashar-al-assad/" target="_blank">writes</a> Lina Khatib.
