World reacts to Bashar al-Assad’s fall, capture of Syria’s Damascus

Syrian opposition fighters have declared that the country has been “liberated” after they stormed the capital and announced that President Bashar al-Assad had fled the capital city to an unknown destination.

Joyous celebrations erupted in Damascus and other parts of the country, including along the border with neighbouring Lebanon, with many displaced Syrians deciding to return home.

The stunning opposition advance came after 13 years of brutal war, putting an end to more than half a century of the rule of the al-Assad family.

Here’s a selection of international reactions to the news. This page will be updated as more statements come in:

United Nations

“What is important is that we are able to find a situation where there is a political way out of this,” Geir Pedersen, UN envoy to Syria, said.

And that political way needs to be very different from what it has been before, it needs to be a process that is inclusive of everyone, and where we really focus on the need for unity, stability, where Syria is able to restore its sovereignty and its territory. There are lots of wounds that need to be healed.”