Syria latest: Race to free prisoners ‘choking to death’ in underground cells after fall of Assad regime
The Assad regime’s brutal half-century-long grip on Syria has come to an end, in a stunning defeat by opposition insurgents who seized control of Damascus on Sunday after more than 13 years of civil war.
In extraordinary scenes, jubilant crowds took to the streets waving a revolutionary flag and shouting “Freedom”, as the capital was littered with the discarded uniforms of government forces.
Families of relatives left to rot for years in the regime’s notorious prisons are now waiting anxiously for news of loved ones as videos showed fighters freeing thousands from jails across the country.
The Syrian civil defence group known as the White Helmets said it has deployed five emergency teams to Sednaya Prison to investigate hidden underground cells.
The BBC reported authorities in Damascus said efforts were continuing to free prisoners, some of whom were “almost choking to death” due to the lack of ventilation in the cells.
