UNITED NATIONS, December 8. /TASS/. The United Nations temporarily reduces its staff in Damascus after it was seized by opposition armed units, a UN source told TASS.

"We temporarily reduce our personnel near Damascus," the source said when asked to comment on reports about the evacuation of UN employees from Syria.

Syria’s armed opposition units launched a large-scale offensive on government troops in the Aleppo and Idlib governorates on November 27. By December 7, Syrian President Bashar Assad’s opponents had seized several large cities, including Aleppo, Hama, Deir ez-Zor, Daraa, and Homs. On Sunday morning, they entered Damascus and government troops withdrew from the city. Following intra-Syrian talks, President Assad stepped down and fled the country.