Ousted Syrian leader Assad in Moscow and given asylum, Russian state news agencies say

Ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow on Sunday, Russian media reported, hours after a stunning rebel advance took over the capital of Damascus and ended the Assad family’s 50 years of iron rule.

The Russian agencies, Tass and RIA, cited an unidentified Kremlin source on Assad and his family being given asylum in Moscow, his long-time ally and protector. The Associated Press was not immediately able to verify the reports but contacted the Kremlin for comment.

RIA also said Moscow had received guarantees from Syrian insurgents of the security of Russian military bases and diplomatic posts in Syria.

Assad reportedly left Syria early Sunday, and Syrians have been pouring into streets echoing with celebratory gunfire after a stunning rebel advance reached the capital, ending the Assad family’s 50 years of iron rule.

The swiftly moving events have raised questions about the future of the country and the wider region. Russia has requested an emergency session of the UN Security Council discuss the situation in Syria, Russia’s first deputy permanent representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, posted on social media.

Joyful crowds gathered in squares in Damascus, waving the Syrian 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.