Syria – latest: Race to free prisoners ‘choking to death’ in Assad’s notorious underground jail

France will support Syria’s political transition after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, the foreign minister said on Monday.

A special diplomatic envoy will be sent by the French foreign minister in the coming days, after Syrian rebels seized Damascus unopposed on Sunday.

The fall of Assad’s regime is a stunning defeat for Russia and Moscow could now lose access to military assets in Syria, Mr Barrot told France Info radio.

Syria’s Civil Defence, known as the White Helmets, have said there is “no evidence” to confirm that detainees are trapped in prison basements but that the search is ongoing.

In an update posted on X, the White Helmets wrote: “Until the moment of publishing this tweet, our teams that arrived at Saydnaya prison did not find any secret doors that are being talked about.

“The teams are working with breaching and searching tools, sound sensors, and with the presence of K9 teams that include trained dogs.

“We are accompanied in the search by people who know all the details of the prison, in addition to our reliance on instructions from people who were contacted by the residents that they know the entrances to the prison and the secret basements.

“We are working with all our energies, but so far there is no evidence confirming the presence of detainees in the basements or cellars of the prison, and we will continue the search until we confirm all its sections accurately.”

In a previous post on X, the organisation said it had five emergency teams investigating “hidden underground cells, reportedly holding detainees according to survivors”.

Iran has opened direct communication with the Syrian rebels who have assumed leadership in the country after its ally Bashar al-Assad was ousted, a senior Iranian official said.

It is an attempt to “prevent a hostile trajectory”, the official told Reuters news agency.

Iran, which has now lost a major ally in Damascus, says it will engage with Syria’s new leaders.

“This engagement is key to stabilise ties and avoiding further regional tensions,” the official said.

Israel has struck suspected chemical weapons sites and long-range rockets in Syria, to prevent them falling into the hands of hostile actors, the foreign minister said on Monday.

Syrian rebels overthrew president Bashar al-Assad’s government after nearly 14 years of civil war.

While Israelis have welcomed the fall of Assad, foreign minister Gideon Saar told reports they are remaining cautious about the rebel leaders, who he described as having an extreme ideology.

Israeli forces entered Syrian territory, claiming it was temporarily seizing a buffer zone to ensure its security.

“The only interest we have is the security of Israel and its citizens,” Mr Saar told reporters on Monday.

“That’s why we attacked strategic weapons systems, like, for example, remaining chemical weapons, or long-range missiles and rockets, in order that they will not fall in the hands of extremists.”

Britain could rethink its proscription of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) as a banned organisation after it led the rebel alliance which deposed president Bashar al-Assad, senior minister Pat McFadden said on Monday.

Asked by Sky News whether the government would look at the proscription of HTS, a former al-Qaeda affiliate, Mr McFadden said: “We will consider that. And I think it will partly depend on what happens in terms of how that group behaves now.”

Speaking to BBC radio, he said: “I think it should be a relatively swift decision, so it’s something that will have to be considered quite quickly, given the speed of the situation on the ground.”

HTS is currently a proscribed organisation and designated as a terror group, making it illegal in Britain to support it or join it. No decisions have been made on the group over the weekend, Mr McFadden said.

Russia will respond harshly if its bases in Syria are attacked, a senior Russian lawmaker said according to Interfax news agency.

It comes soon after a Russian lawmaker told Interfax that the security of Russia’s military bases in Syria is fully ensured and are not facing any issues.

The presence of Israeli forces in Syria is a temporary measure to ensure Israel’s security following the collapse of the Assad regime, Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar said on Monday.

“The only interest we have is the security of Israel,” Mr Saar told a news conference in Jerusalem.

Mr Saar also said Israel is remaining cautious in their expectations of the new Syrian regime, saying the rebel leaders have an extreme ideology. Minorities in Syria must be protected and all attacks on Kurds must end, he said.

Israel is determined to prevent the rearming of Hezbollah through Syria, Mr Saar added.

A Syrian revolutionary flag has been displayed in Syria’s embassy in Moscow, according to a Reuters news agency witness.

Images circulating online appear to show men on the balcony of the embassy unveiling the three-starred flag under which Syrian rebel groups fight. Russian state news agency TASS also reported that the flag had been unveiled.

Bashar al-Assad is in Moscow with family after rebel fighters entered unopposed into Damascus, ending six decades of rule by the Assad family, according to reports from Russian news agencies.