The image is from February 2023 and shows Assad visiting earthquake victims in the Syrian city of Aleppo. It doesn't show him in Moscow.

Russian media reported that ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow following his government's collapse as rebel forces descended on the capital. However, social media posts claiming to show the first image of the longtime Syrian leader in Russia are false -- the image was taken during a 2023 visit Assad took to Aleppo.

Germany hosts almost a million Syrians who fled war and dictatorship. The toppling of the Assad regime has raised questions for exiles about their next step.

Brookings Institution Research in Foreign Policy Program Director Michael O’Hanlon talked about the collapse of Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria, what to expect from the rebel alliance now asserting control there,

In Ottawa, Syrian-Canadians are reacting — with hope and caution — to the fall of the Assad government. Some are calling it a new beginning for the country.