Islamist rebels have been advancing through large swathes of the country's north-west in the past week, threatening the rule of Syria's long-time president, Bashar Al-Assad.

Assad’s favor after a Russian blitzkrieg on Aleppo helped him regain control over the country’s second biggest city.

The capture of Aleppo by rebels, Syria’s second-largest city, has been a big change in the more than decade-long conflict, as the city had never before fallen out of government hands