Russia claimed on Sunday that Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, whose government was toppled by rebels after nearly 14 years of crippling civil war, had resigned from the presidency and defected to an undisclosed location.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Bashar al-Assad held talks with several parties to the conflict before stepping down. It was claimed he left the country after informing the government of the peaceful transfer of power. Moscow did not take part in the deliberations.

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“As a result of the talks between B. Assad and a number of participants in the conflict on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, he decided to resign from his presidential post and leave the country, with instructions to proceed with the peaceful transfer of power,” the Muscovite said Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Russia did not take part in these talks,” it said.

Earlier today it was reported that Assad had flown from Damascus to an unknown destination as rebels entered the capital with no sign of army action. The whereabouts of Assad, his wife Asma and his two children are unknown.

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Meanwhile, the end of Assad’s decades-long rule in Syria caused rejoicing. Revelers toppled and trampled on statues of Bashar al-Assad’s late father Hafez in Damascus.

In Aleppo, northern Syria, images showed people toppling a statue of Bashar al-Assad’s brother Bassel and one of their fathers.

In Daraa in southern Syria, the cradle of the 2011 uprising, online images confirmed by AFP showed a rebel fighter riding a motorcycle down a street, dragging a toppled statue of Hafez al-Assad.

Meanwhile, Syrian mobs ransacked Bashar al-Assad’s palaces, stealing furniture and jewelry.

People entered the Al-Rawda presidential palace, Reuters reported, adding that several men carried fancy chairs over their shoulders. The Muhajreen Palace was also looted.

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Everything you need to know about the Assad family

Assad’s father, Hafez al-Assad, took power after the 1970 coup. The signs of his regime, in which dissent was supposedly suppressed, were still visible across Syria in the form of his statues and images. His photo was pasted on walls, institutions, offices and schools across the country.

Bashar al-Assad inherited power from his father in 2000; he had ruled ever since. Since 2011, he has led the crackdown on the democracy movement, which began with peaceful protests.