New Delhi: India's embassy in Damascus is operational and is “in touch with all Indian nationals”, who are “safe”, official Indian sources said on a day when Syrian rebel forces rapidly took over the country's capital and forced its top brass to flee.

“Embassy remains available to assist Indian nationals in Syria,” the sources added on Sunday (December 8).

Rebels led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham insurgent group and the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army umbrella group of militias captured Damascus early on Sunday after having previously taken over the important cities of Aleppo, Homs and Hama.

President Bashar al-Assad, who ruled Syria since 2000, resigned and left the country on Sunday, the foreign ministry in Russia – a key ally of Assad's government – announced. Other top officials also fled Syria, AP reported.

The external affairs ministry on Friday issued an advisory urging against travel to Syria and requesting Indian nationals present in the country to stay in touch with the embassy in Damascus.

“Those who can, are advised to leave by the earliest available commercial flights and others are requested to observe utmost precaution about their safety and restrict their movements to the minimum,” the advisory said.

Asked on Friday for comment on the situation in Syria, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the government believed there were about 90 Indian nationals in the country.

“There are also several Indians there who are working with UN organisations,” Jaiswal also said.

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