Assad in Moscow; focus now on power transition

A day after Syria's President Bashar al-Assad was ousted and rebels led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took over the country's capital Damascus, the focus moved to the transition of power.

Syria's prime minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said on Monday that most cabinet ministers are still working from offices in Damascus even as world leaders said that any political transition must include accountability for Assad and others behind crimes committed under his regime.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said Russia has granted political asylum to Assad, a decision made by President Vladimir Putin.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on Assad's specific whereabouts and said Putin was not planning to meet him.

In a statement issued on social media, the general command in Syria said: "It is strictly forbidden to interfere with women's dress or impose any request related to their clothing or appearance, including requests for modesty." The United Nations rights chief Volker Turk said on Monday that there were serious grounds to believe that Assad and other senior leaders may have committed atrocity crimes.

"Any political transition must ensure accountability for perpetrators of serious violations and guarantee that those responsible are held to account. It is imperative that all evidence be collected and preserved meticulously for future use," Turk told reporters in Geneva.