Syrian President Bashar Assad flees with instructions of 'peaceful transfer of power'

Taoiseach Simon Harris said that this is the moment when the world must act to "prevent chaos and tyranny from filling the vacuum".

Syrian opposition fighters celebrate the fall of the government in Damascus. Picture: Omar Sanadiki/AP

Syrian President Bashar Assad has left Syria after negotiations with rebel groups, and given “instructions” to “transfer power peacefully”, Russia’s foreign ministry has said.

Moscow had not directly participated in these talks, the ministry said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.