NEW DELHI: The UN Security Council will hold an emergency closed-door meeting on Monday afternoon to discuss the situation in Syria, following President Bashar al-Assad's ouster, news agency AFP reported citing multiple diplomatic sources.

The meeting, scheduled for 3:00 pm New York time, was requested by Russia on Sunday.

Bashar al-Assad and his family, as per the Russian state media reports, have been granted asylum in Moscow on “humanitarian grounds”.

"Assad and members of his family have arrived in Moscow," a Kremlin source told the TASS and Ria Novosti news agencies. "Russia granted them asylum on humanitarian grounds."

After a series of offensives, Syrian rebel factions announced on Sunday (Dec 8) on state television that they have successfully overthrown President Bashar al-Assad and have freed "unjustly detained" prisoners. 
In their address, they referred to Assad as a "tyrant" and urged for the protection of state property. 

The development came after a wave of intense clashes and strategic advancements by the rebel forces in Damascus and surrounding areas.
A group of rebels appeared on state TV and announced "the liberation of the city of Damascus, the fall of the Assad and the release of 'unjustly detained' people from the regime prisons, reading a statement from the Damascus Conquest operations room.

The rebels called on fighters and citizens to safeguard the "property of the free Syrian state".

Syrian state television on Sunday declared "victory" of Syria's rebellion and the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, which they termed "criminal." 
"Victory of the great Syrian revolution and the fall of the criminal Assad regime," read the full-screen message in large white writing on a mainly red background.

With the announcement, celebrations broke out in Syria as crows rejoiced the end of Assad's rule.