This is the moment Syrian rebels shoot down the statue of former President Hafez al-Assad. It comes as the Syrian government of Hafez’s son Bashar has fallen, bringing a stunning end to his family’s 50-year reign following a lightning offensive by Islamist rebels. Social media footage shows protesters bringing down the statue of the president’s late father in a main square in a suburb a few miles from the centre of the capital on Saturday (7 December). A plane carrying Assad left Damascus on Sunday morning as rebel fighters entered the capital, and two officials told Reuters he had fled the country.