Syrian government falls to fast-moving rebels, ending 50 years of iron rule by the Assad family

The Syrian government has collapsed, falling to a lightning rebel offensive that seized control of the capital. Crowds poured into the streets Sunday to celebrate the end of the Assad family’s 50 years of iron rule. Syrian state television aired a video statement by a group of men saying that President Bashar Assad had been overthrown and all detainees in jails had been set free. The man who read the statement said the opposition group known as the Operations Room to Conquer Damascus called on all opposition fighters and citizens to preserve state institutions of “the free Syrian state.”