JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: Overseas now, the funeral for Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, who died over the weekend; thousands of mourners are lining the streets in Mr. Assad's boyhood village to bid their final farewells. CNN's Mike Hanna joins us from the capital, Damascus.</s>MIKE HANNA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the funeral of President Assad has been taking place over the past 11 hours. First in the capital, Damascus, where the coffin was carried through the streets of the city, tens of thousands of people lining the route. Then it lay in state in the People's Palace. Dignitaries from around the world came to pay their final respects. In the final process, the body was moved down to the village of Qardaha. The pictures we're looking at now in the mausoleum in the village of Qardaha; this the birth place of President Assad, the town in which he was born 69 years ago. This mausoleum that we are looking at here was built by President Assad for his eldest son, Basil, who died in a car crash in 1994. Basil was originally President Assad's appointed heir, but when he died, the second son came into the frame. And throughout the funeral proceedings, we have seen, walking behind the coffin of his father, the 34-year-old Bashar Assad, who it would appear, certainly if the ruling party has it way, will succeed his president -- his father as president of Syria. The last moments of the funeral procession of President Assad now taking place in the village of Qardaha, the village where he was born 69 years ago. I'm Mike Hanna, CNN, reporting live from Damascus.
Funeral Procession for Syrian President Hafez al-Assad Draws to a Close in Qardaha