The rebels capturing Damascus marked a turning point for Syria, which had been shattered by more than 13 years of war which turned cities to rubble, killed hundreds of thousands of people and forced millions to flee abroad as refugees.

The rapid downfall of Syrian leader Bashar Assad has touched off a new round of delicate geopolitical maneuvering between Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

A Syrian family that survived a 2013 chemical weapons attack that killed hundreds of people near the country’s capital, Damascus, says the ordeal they experienced haunts them to this day. The Aug. 21,

Russia has evacuated some staff from its diplomatic missions in Damascus, as well as personnel from the embassies of Belarus, North Korea, and Abkhazia, according to the Foreign Ministry’s Crisis Management Center.

Satellite images reveal military movements that could be a possible prelude to Moscow’s withdrawal. An American found in Damascus this week was handed over to U.S. forces.

Russia is moving a large amount of military equipment in Syria, signalling preparations for a partial withdrawal, analysts say. Satellite images reveal a build-up of military vehicles at a Russian-controlled port and airbase in western Syria. Transport aircraft also appear to have arrived and departed the country in recent days.

After the fall of the Assad regime, Russian cargo planes flew equipment from Syria to bases Moscow controls in eastern Libya, according to U.S. and Libyan officials.

Losing Syrian military bases would hurt the Kremlin’s attempts to project power in the Middle East and Africa.

Ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad says he had no plans to leave the country after the fall of Damascus a week ago but the Russian military evacuated him after their base in western Syria came under attack.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also rejected media reports suggesting Bashar al-Assad had been confined to Moscow and had assets frozen.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Monday it was up to Syrians to determine their own future and called for an "inclusive" government taking account of the country's diverse ethnic and religious interests.

Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad released on Monday his first public statement since leaving Damascus on Dec. 8, detailing the chaotic moments leading up to his departure for Russia. The statement,