Syrians poured into streets echoing with celebratory gunfire on Sunday after a stunning rebel advance reached the capital, ending the Assad family’s 50 years of iron rule but raising questions about the future of the country and the wider region.
Joyful crowds gathered in central squares in Damascus, waving the Syrian revolutionary flag in scenes that recalled the early days of the Arab Spring uprising before a brutal crackdown and the rise of an insurgency plunged the country into a nearly 14-year civil war. (Courtesy of Associated Press)
Joyful crowds gathered in central squares in Damascus, waving the Syrian revolutionary flag in scenes that recalled the early days of the Arab Spring uprising before a brutal crackdown and the rise of an insurgency plunged the country into a nearly 14-year civil war. (Courtesy of Associated Press)
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NewsTranscript
00:00The Syrian government has fallen after an insurgency swept across the country and ended
00:07Bashar al-Assad's 24-year rule over Syria, and ultimately ending the Assad family's 50-year
00:13control of the country.
00:15Now, Syria has been mired in conflict since 2011, but this insurgency just took 10 days
00:20to make it across major cities and into the heart of Damascus.
00:24Today, in the capital, in Umayyad Square, people are celebrating, shooting celebratory
00:29gunfire, parading around in their cars, scenes we have not witnessed since anti-government
00:33protests in Syria started in 2011.
00:43People have broken into prisons across the country, finding political prisoners and other
00:47people that have gone missing for years when the Assad family ruled the country.
00:51People have broken into the presidential palace, tearing down portraits of the former
00:55president and posing in the lavish halls.
00:58It is truly a moment of joy for many Syrians, that's clear, but there are many questions
01:02over Syria's fate going forward.
01:04The international community hopes that Syria can have a peaceful and smooth political transition
01:09into a chapter where it will have long-term security and prosperity.
01:12However, there are many political and military actors in Syria that are at odds with each
01:16other, and all of them want to have their seat at the negotiating table, and all of
01:20them want their stake in what Syria will look like going forward.