Nine individuals appeared on Syrian state television, one of whom delivered what he said was statement number one from the “Fatah Damascus Operations Room.”

"The city of Damascus has been liberated, the tyrant Bashar al-Assad has been toppled, and all the unjustly detained persons from the regime’s prisons have been released," says one member from the Syria rebels.

Syria's army command notified officers on Sunday that Assad's regime had ended, a Syrian officer who was informed of the move told Reuters.

Assad, who had crushed all forms of dissent, flew out of Damascus for an unknown destination earlier on Sunday, two senior army officers told Reuters, as rebels said they had entered the capital with no sign of army deployments.

The dramatic collapse marks a seismic moment for the Middle East, ending the family's iron-fisted rule over Syria and dealing a massive blow to Russia and Iran, which have lost a key ally at the heart of the region.