Syrian army command tells personnel Assad’s rule ends

On Sunday, the Syrian army command notified its officers that President Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year rule has come to an end, Reuters writes, citing a source within the Syrian military.

Syrian rebels, who have declared that “Damascus is now free from Assad,” are going to deliver their first message to the Syrian people on state television, according to two sources from the rebels.

Two senior military officers told Reuters that Assad left Damascus on Sunday in an unknown direction, while the rebels announced that they had entered the capital without facing resistance from the army.