After insurgents toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria last week, many senior officials and members of his dreaded intelligence and security services appear to have melted away. Activists say some of them have managed to flee the country while others went to hide in their hometowns.

Maher Assad is the younger brother of the ousted president and the commander of the 4th Armoured Division. He is under US and European sanctions. He disappeared over the weekend, and Abdurrhaman said he made it to Russia. Maj Gen Ali Mamlouk, security adviser to Assad and former head of the intelligence services, fled to Lebanon, and it is not clear if he is still in the country under the protection of Hezbollah.