Syria’s former President Bashar Al Assad and his family have been granted asylum in Russia.

A Kremlin source confirmed to the Tass news agency says this was on humanitarian grounds. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Assad left the presidential post and Syria after negotiations with parties in the Syrian conflict.

Assad apparently gave instructions that power should be transferred peacefully. The terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has tasked Syria’s former Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali to supervise state institutions until they are handed over to a new government.

The so-called Syrian opposition has proposed an 18-month transition plan prior to elections