DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) 鈥� Ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad fled to Moscow and received asylum from his longtime ally, Russian media said Sunday, hours after seized control of Damascus and ended .
Thousands of Syrians poured into streets echoing with celebratory gunfire and waved the revolutionary flag in scenes that recalled the early days of the Arab Spring uprising, before a brutal crackdown and the rise of an insurgency plunged the country into a nearly 14-year civil war.
The swiftly moving events raised questions about the future of the country and the wider region.
鈥淥ur approach has shifted the balance of power in the Middle East," , crediting action by the U.S. and its allies for weakening Syria鈥檚 backers 鈥� Russia, Iran and Hezbollah. He called the fall of Assad a 鈥渇undamental act of justice鈥� but also a 鈥渕oment of risk and uncertainty,鈥� and said rebel groups are 鈥渟aying the right things now鈥� but the U.S. would assess their actions.
Russia requested an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council to discuss Syria, according to Dmitry Polyansky, its deputy ambassador to the U.N., in a post on Telegram.
The arrival of Assad and his family in Moscow was reported by Russian agencies Tass and RIA, citing an unidentified source at the Kremlin. A spokesman there didn't immediately respond to questions. RIA also said Syrian insurgents had guaranteed the security of Russian military bases and diplomatic posts in Syria.
Earlier, Russia said Assad left Syria after negotiations with rebel groups and that he had given instructions to transfer power peacefully.
The leader of Syria's biggest rebel faction, , is poised to chart the country鈥檚 future. The former al-Qaida commander cut ties with the group years ago and says he embraces pluralism and religious tolerance. His or HTS, is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the U.N.
In his first public appearance since fighters entered the Damascus suburbs Saturday, al-Golani visited the Umayyad Mosque and described Assad's fall as 鈥渁 victory to the Islamic nation.鈥� Calling himself by his given name, Ahmad al-Sharaa, and not his nom de guerre, he said Assad had made Syria 鈥渁 farm for Iran鈥檚 greed.鈥�
The rebels face the daunting task of healing bitter divisions in a country ravaged by war and split among armed factions. Turkey-backed opposition fighters are battling U.S.-allied Kurdish forces in the north, and the Islamic State group is still active in remote areas.
Syrian state television broadcast a rebel statement saying Assad had been overthrown and all prisoners had been released. They urged people to preserve the institutions of 鈥渢he free Syrian state,鈥� and announced a curfew in Damascus from 4 p.m. to 5 a.m.
An online video purported to show rebels freeing dozens of women at the notorious Saydnaya prison, where . At least one small child was seen among them.
鈥淭his happiness will not be completed until I can see my son out of prison and know where is he,鈥� said one relative, Bassam Masr. "I have been searching for him for two hours. He has been detained for 13 years.鈥�
Rebel commander Anas Salkhadi appeared on state TV and sought to reassure religious and ethnic minorities, saying: 鈥淪yria is for everyone, no exceptions. Syria is for Druze, Sunnis, Alawites, and all sects.鈥�
鈥淲e will not deal with people the way the Assad family did," he added.
Celebrations in the capital
Damascus residents prayed in mosques and celebrated in squares, calling, 鈥淕od is great.鈥� People chanted anti-Assad slogans and honked car horns. Teenage boys picked up weapons apparently discarded by security forces and fired into the air.
Soldiers and police fled their posts and looters broke into the Defense Ministry. Families wandered the presidential palace, walking by damaged portraits of Assad. Other parts of the capital were empty and shops were closed.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like a dream. I need someone to wake me up," said opposition fighter Abu Laith, adding the rebels were welcomed in Damascus with 鈥渓ove.鈥�
Rebels stood guard at the Justice Ministry, where Judge Khitam Haddad said he and colleagues were protecting documents. Outside, residents sought information about relatives who disappeared under Assad.
The rebels 鈥渉ave felt the pain of the people,鈥� said one woman, giving only her first name, Heba. She worried about possible revenge killings by the rebels, many of whom appeared to be underage.
Syria鈥檚 historically pro-government newspaper al-Watan called it 鈥渁 new page for Syria. We thank God for not shedding more blood.鈥� It added that media workers should not be blamed for publishing past government statements ordered from above.
A statement from the Alawite sect that formed the core of Assad's base called on young Syrians to be 鈥渃alm, rational and prudent and not to be dragged into what tears apart the unity of our country.鈥�
The rebels mainly come from the Sunni Muslim majority in Syria, which also has sizable Druze, Christian and Kurdish communities. In Qamishli in the northeast, a Kurdish man slapped a statue of the late leader Hafez Assad with his shoe.
Calls for an orderly transition
The were the largest in recent years, and saw the cities of Aleppo, and Homs fall within days as the Syrian army melted away. The road to Damascus from the Lebanese border was littered with military uniforms and charred armored vehicles.
Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, which provided crucial support to Assad, abandoned him as they reeled from other conflicts.
The end of Assad鈥檚 rule was a major blow to Iran and its proxies, already weakened by . Iran said Syrians should decide their future 鈥渨ithout destructive, coercive, foreign intervention.鈥� The Iranian Embassy in Damascus was ransacked after apparently having been abandoned.
Hossein Akbari, Iran鈥檚 ambassador to Syria, said it was 鈥渆ffectively impossible鈥� to help the Syrian government after it admitted the insurgents' military superiority. Speaking on Iranian state media from an undisclosed location, he said Syria's government decided Saturday night to hand over power peacefully.
鈥淲hen the army and the people could not resist, it was a good decision to let go to prevent bloodshed and destruction,鈥� Akbari said, adding that some of his colleagues left Syria before sunrise.
Iran鈥檚 Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking on state TV, said there were concerns about the 鈥減ossibility of civil war, disintegration of Syria, total collapse and turning Syria into a shelter for terrorists.鈥�
Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali has said the government was ready to 鈥渆xtend its hand鈥� to the opposition and turn its functions over to a transitional government. A video on Syrian opposition media showed armed men escorting him from his office to a hotel.
The U.N.鈥檚 special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, has called for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an 鈥渙rderly political transition.鈥�
The Gulf nation of Qatar, a key regional mediator, hosted an emergency meeting of foreign ministers and top officials from eight countries with interests in Syria late Saturday, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Turkey.
Majed al-Ansari, Qatar鈥檚 Foreign Ministry spokesman, said they agreed on the need 鈥渢o engage all parties on the ground," including the HTS, and that the main concern is 鈥渟tability and safe transition.鈥�
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli troops had seized a buffer zone in the Golan Heights established in 1974, saying it was to protect Israeli residents after Syrian troops abandoned positions. Israel鈥檚 military later warned residents of five southern Syria communities to stay home for their safety, and didn鈥檛 respond to questions.
Israel captured the Golan in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed it. The international community, except for the U.S., views it as occupied, and the Arab League on Sunday condemned what it called Israel鈥檚 efforts to take advantage of Assad鈥檚 downfall to occupy more territory.
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Sewell reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue, Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut; Samar Kassaballi, Omar Sanadiki and Ghaith Alsayed in Damascus; Jon Gambrell in Manama, Bahrain; Josef Federman in Doha, Qatar; and Tia Goldenberg in Jerusalem, contributed.
Abdulrahman Shaheen, Sarah El Deeb And Abby Sewell, The Associated Press
