Farewell to Assad

The body of the late Syrian president, Hafez al-Assad, has been laid to rest at the family mausoleum in his home town of Qardaha in northern Syria.

Mr Assad's son and designated successor, Bashar, was among those who watched as the coffin was lowered into the ground, and he was handed the Syrian flag which had been draping it.

Crowds of chanting mourners lined the streets of Qardaha as the funeral cortege arrived in the town, many surging forward towards the coffin. The security forces struggled to hold them back. Bashar Assad walked behind the gun carriage, acknowledging the salutes of the crowds.

Earlier, official farewell ceremonies took place in the capital, Damascus.

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in the city to mourn, and foreign and local dignitaries paid their final respects to Mr Assad as he lay in state.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service