INSIDE AN ASSAD LAIR

AS beleaguered Syrians start to navigate life after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, the full extent of his brutal family's stranglehold on the country is being exposed.

-  CHRIS HUGHES

While the transitional government takes shape, pictures have emerged of creepy dungeon lairs and escape tunnels under feared enforcer Maher al-Assad's luxury lair.

With Bashar exiled to Russia, attention turned to his brother, who is believed to have been behind many of the horrors inflicted on civilians and rebels since 2011.

Photos show tanks in his garden and tunnels beneath Maher's Damascus home, leading deep underground and apparently used as an escape route.

The expensive furniture and fittings have been looted, but it is clear he lived a life of luxury and privilege.

Mystery surrounds the whereabouts of Maher, former head of the 4th Armoured Division and the Republican Guard. Some reports said he had been killed but others that he escaped.

He was behind the deaths of 2,000 Syrians as he quelled a rebellion in Ghouta, outside Damascus, on August 21, 2013. Weapons inspectors said evidence pointed towards Sarin nerve agent being used.