Syrian President Bashar Assad flees country as his government collapses

Syria's government appears to have fallen after opposition fighters said they had entered Damascus following a stunning advance, and a Syrian opposition war monitor reported that President Bashar Assad had left the country, Report informs via CBS News.

Syrian opposition fighters said early Sunday local time that they had entered Damascus and residents of the capital reported the sounds of gunfire and explosions.

Rami Abdurrahman — who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor — told the Associated Press that Assad took a flight Sunday out of Damascus. Two senior Syrian army officers also told Reuters that Assad flew out of Damascus Sunday for an unknown destination. The White House indicated to CBS News it was unaware of Assad's whereabouts.