You're listening to the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service.

Hello, I'm Valerie Sanderson with a special edition on Sunday the 8th of December about the

developing situation in Syria, where Islamist rebels are now in control of the capital and the country.

Syria's Prime Minister had this response.

Any leadership chosen by the Syrian people,

we're ready to cooperate with it,

providing all possible facilities

to ensure a smooth transfer of various government files.

And...

They've seen Syria, not as a country, but as a hotel

where people in it are actually just servants.

We'll get the latest from our correspondence on what this means for Syria, its people and its future.

It has been an extraordinary few days in Syria, culminating in the fall of the House of Assad after more than 50 years,

as Islamist led rebel forces entered the capital Damascus.

President Bashar al-Assad's government forces appear to have offered little resistance,

and now the Syrian Prime Minister, Mohamed Ghazi al-Jalali, in a recorded video message,

says he's to work on a transition of power.

Any leadership chosen by the Syrian people were ready to cooperate with it,

providing all possible facilities to ensure a smooth transfer of various government files.

Videos from social media showed people celebrating on the streets of Damascus.

President Bashar al-Assad is a report to have fled the country

and hundreds of videos posted overnight

...