His wife and children flee to Russia, the fate of Syrian President al-Assad is unclear

The family of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has fled to Russia after rebel forces launched a shock offensive that seized swathes of territory in Syria.

Asma al-Assad, the British-born wife of the Syrian president, fled with her three children, according to Syrian security officials and Arab officials.

It is unclear whether the Syrian president has remained in his country or fled.

But Syria's state news agency has denied rumors that he has left the country and says al-Assad is at work in Damascus.

Meanwhile, a pro-Assad TV channel said he had traveled to Iran, but later denied the report.

It is learned that Egyptian and Jordanian officials have asked the Syrian president to leave the country and form a government in exile, writes the Telegraph.

Rebel forces reportedly captured Hama on Thursday night after capturing Syria's second city, Aleppo, last week.

On Friday, they were advancing in Homs, while now they are approaching Damascus, Telegraph reports.

The US and Russia both told their citizens to leave Syria on the next available commercial flight.

Charles Lister, director of the Syria program at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, said Assad had relied on Putin to bail him out in 2015, but his future now looked bleak, adding: "Russia does not look able, or perhaps even willing, to save him".

Iran reportedly has a military presence in Homs and other parts of Syria, and on Friday Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, said it would support Assad, without giving details.

But recently, Iran has begun evacuating military personnel from Syria.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has pledged to his Iranian allies to back Assad, but analysts have said he will be frustrated with renewed fighting in Syria because it will distract him from his fight in Ukraine. . /Telegraph/