Assad's palace looted as ousted leader Assad flees to Russia

Ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family have arrived in Russia where they have been granted asylum, according to Russian state media.

Assad fled Syria as rebel forces entered the capital Damascus yesterday, with attention now turning to what the future will look like for the war-ravaged country.

The images, shared by Reuters, capture the crowd and a fallen Bashar al-Assad statue in Aleppo, after Syrians toppled the monument.

At Lebanon’s Masnaa crossing into Syria, the mood was festive with some local Lebanese residents handing out congratulatory sweets to Syrians lined up to return to their country.

The Turkish foreign minister called on the world to help stabilise Syria, saying that regional and global powers should try “to act with prudence and calm and to refrain from steps that could further destabilize the region.”

Meanwhile, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered troops into the buffer zone between Syria and Israeli occupied territory, saying he's concerned the chaos could threaten Israel.

[Source : abc.net.au]