Syrian state TV airs statement saying Assad has been overthrown

Syrians celebrate the arrival of opposition fighters in Damascus, Syria. Picture: Omar Sanadiki/AP

Syrian state television aired a video statement by a group of men saying that president Bashar Assad has been overthrown and all detainees in jails have been set free.

The man who read the statement said the Operations Room to Conquer Damascus, an opposition group, is calling on all opposition fighters and citizens to preserve state institutions of “the free Syrian state”.