In just over a week, Syrian rebel forces seized much of Syria’s northwest. First, the rebels captured Syria’s largest city, Aleppo, then Hama and Homs. On Sunday, they entered Syria’s capital, Damascus, taking the city without a fight as government forces fled.

Assad's regime in Syria, thousands of prisoners have been released from Saydnaya military prison just outside of Damascus, with reports suggesting that some prisoners were being held in secret underground cells by the previous administration.