Local security conflict

The 54-year old government of the Assad family has fallen after rebels took control of the capital Damascus on Sunday, ending a civil war that has plagued the war-torn country for thirteen years.President Bashar Assad and his family has reportedly fled Syria to an unknown location..Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali has issued a public statement saying he is staying in Syria, as it his country, and he will remain in his post, agreeing to cooperate with the leaders of the rebel fighters."I am in my house and I have not left, and this is because of my belonging to this country," Jalili said in a video posted on Facebook.The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, recognised by the world's major news agencies as a reliable source for news out of Syria, confirmed Assad boarded a plane at Damascus on Sunday.The news has also been reported by Al Jazeera and Iran's state TV network. The Syrian government news agency Sana's website has been offline all Sunday.The Syrian army is believed to have melted under the threat of the rebels advance, and the Damascus Police headquarters has also seemingly been abandoned.Army checkpoints were unmanned throughout the city with army uniforms strewn around.It is understood Damascus Airport has closed and all flights cancelled.The second and largest cities in the country, Aleppo and Homs, along with Hama, were taken in the days leading up to the fall of Damascus. The lightning takeover has taken just ten days, an astonishing climax to the more than decade-long civil war.The rebels taking control of Syria had their origins in al-Qaeda through the leading faction, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, designated a terrorist group by the United States.Abu Mohammed al-Golani, 42, the leader of the group, is wanted by the FBI and has a $10 million bounty on his head. In May 2013, al-Golano, who is also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani, and Abu Mohammed al-Julani, was named a specially designated global terroris, by the U.S. State Department, blocking all his property and prohibiting U.S. persons from dealing with him.On July 24, 2013, the UN Security Council ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee placed him on its list of sanctioned terrorists, making him subject to an international asset freeze, travel ban, and arms embargo.