Syrian rebels seized the capital Damascus unopposed on Sunday after a lightning advance that sent Assad fleeing to Russia after a 13-year civil war and six decades of his family's autocratic rule.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad yesterday told his troops they were close to winning the country's seven-year civil war after inflicting a succession of defeats on rebels.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he plans to visit North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, Pyongyang's state media reports, potentially becoming the first head of state to meet Kim inside the isolated country.

The involvement of external powers in the Syrian war continues to accelerate as President Bashar Assad’s government and Russia dismissed White House allegations that it was preparing a new chemical weapons attack.

Russian warships in the Mediterranean Sea fire cruise missiles at targets near Aleppo on Friday, a further sign of Moscow's broadening military effort in Syria days after it began to fly bombing missions from an airbase in Iran.

At least 200 civilians are killed in Russian air strikes in Syria, an Amnesty International report says, quoting witnesses and activists.

Forget principles and morality. Forget, or try to forget, the quarter-million deaths for which Bashar al-Assad is responsible, directly or indirectly, since choosing to respond with violence to a peaceful uprising of the Syrian people.

Russian President Vladimir Putin defends Russia's military operations in Syria, saying the aim is to "stabilise the legitimate authority" of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Barack Obama accuses each other over Syria in duelling UN speeches, as Moscow and Tehran mounted a fierce defense of Bashar al-Assad.

Two Russian cargo planes carrying 80 tonnes of humanitarian aid have landed in Syria, Syrian state media say.

Images of Syrian refugees stuck at borders and at train stations have spurred on an outcry for more to be done to help those fleeing the war.

Fresh efforts to revive peace talks on Syria is due to begin in Geneva.

Islamist rebels in Syria takes over much of the key north-western town of Jisr al-Shughur, activists say.