On the border of Syria and Lebanon, a group of men are setting foot on their home soil for the first time in more than 10 years. Kneeling on the road, they press their brows to the highway and praise God for their return from exile.
“Thank God, the tyrant has fallen,” one man says. “He is the one who made us hate one another.”
There are no Syrian soldiers to be seen. Instead, armed rebels are waiting at the border to greet the families finally returning to their homes.
The road to Damascus is still littered with signs of the fighting. All along the highway, men are tearing down banners and posters bearing the faces of deposed dictator Bashar al-Assad and his father.
Watch moreThe fall of the House of Assad: What next for Syria?
In the capital itself, buildings stand almost unscathed despite more than a decade of war. In Damascus’s Umayyad Square, crowds of people have gathered to celebrate the shocking collapse of Assad’s regime.
Read moreWhy the Assad regime collapsed in Syria – and why so fast
Standing on a tank, a man in a blue polo shirt pumps his fists in the air, overcome with emotion. Behind him, men fire sharp bursts of rifle fire into the air in celebration.
“Syria belongs to all our communities,” he says. “We are not racist, we are not sectarian. Syria doesn’t belong to the Assads!”
Already, the Islamist-led rebel groups that seized the capital over the weekend are preparing for the uncertain political transition to follow.
“The military groups will create a general administration to run the country,” rebel commander Abu Saki says.
“God willing, it will be an example to get rid of the old system that was based on corruption and cronyism.”
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