Syrian rebels topple Assad, his whereabouts unknown

Syrian rebels declared President Bashar al-Assad ousted after seizing control of Damascus on Sunday, forcing him to flee and ending his family's decades of rule after more than 13 years of civil war in a seismic moment for the Middle East.

The rebels also dealt a major blow to the influence of Russia and Iran in the heart of the region, key allies who propped up Assad during critical periods in the conflict.

Iran's embassy was stormed by Syrian rebels following their capture of Damascus, Iran's English-language Press TV reported on Sunday.

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

But the military later said it was continuing operations against "terrorist groups" in the key cities of Hama and Homs and in the Deraa countryside.

Assad, who has not spoken in public since the sudden rebel advance a week ago, 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.

His whereabouts now - and those of his wife Asma and their two children - remain unknown.

"We celebrate with the Syrian people the news of freeing our prisoners and releasing their chains and announcing the end of the era of injustice in Sednaya prison," the rebels said, referring to a large jail on the outskirts of Damascus where the Syrian government detained thousands.

The Syrian rebel coalition said on Sunday it is continuing work to complete the transfer of power in Syria to a transitional governing body with full executive powers.

"The great Syrian revolution has moved from the stage of struggle to overthrow the Assad regime to the struggle to build a Syria together that befits the sacrifices of its people," it added in a statement.

Thousands in cars and on foot congregated at a main square in Damascus waving and chanting "Freedom" from a half century of Assad family rule, witnesses said.

The collapse followed a shift in the balance of power in the Middle East after many leaders of Lebanon's Hezbollah group, a lynchpin of Assad's battlefield force, were killed by Israel over the past two months. Russia, Assad's other key ally, has been focused on the war in Ukraine.

Turkey-backed Syrian forces have taken control of some 80 per cent of northern Syria's Manbij area and are close to victory against Kurdish forces there, a Turkish security source said.