Elated but anxious Syrians pore over ousted Assad’s palace

Damascus – Syria’s capital was on autopilot on Tuesday, with no new government following the dramatic rebel offensive who overthrew dictator Bashar al-Assad on Sunday. But when the former al Qaeda branch that led that charge put some of its most senior figures in charge of a self-proclaimed transitional administration, many Syrians seemed determined to try to continue with things as usual.

Some institutions, including Syria’s central bank, asked their employees to report to work, and many people seemed to hope that simply sticking to daily routines was the safest option in the face of complete uncertainty about the country’s future.

Some efforts are being made to calm concerns. Mohamed al-Bashir, a politician who previously led the local government in parts of northwestern Syria and Idlib ruled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, before its extraordinary 12-day lightning offensive, has been named transitional prime minister to the next three months.

And although anxiety remained, there was still a buzz of enthusiasm, especially in the capital, Damascus, which until Sunday was the seat of the Assad family’s brutal grip on power for half a century. On Monday, a crowd came to visit one of the former dictator’s homes and meet the Islamist fighters who stormed his city on Sunday.

Those rebel forces, while patrolling the streets, were on their best behavior, even allowing the public to wield their weapons for smiling photos.

“It’s a celebration for all of us, for all Syrians: here and around the world,” said Lina Zacchar, one of many Syrians who came to take a look at the former president’s family home. “My mother is a Christian, that’s why she’s afraid. But we tell her… we hope for a new Syria. We are all brothers, we are all sisters, we are all one! We are Syrians.”

In another symbol of the regime, the presidential palace, the public toured the vast ceremonial halls where the Assads once received dignitaries.

The idea of ​​approaching the palace would have once been unimaginable to the general population. Now its doors are wide open. CBS News found the palace patrolled by a rebel soldier named Ahmed who had nearly died opposing Assad’s forces nine years ago.

“I was personally attacked and injured in a 2015 attack on our home. My family members are detained and I do not know their fate,” Ahmed told CBS News on Monday. “They may be in regime prisons and I hope we can free them from them.”

Ahmed – like all other rebel fighters – is awaiting new orders. A huge question mark remains over HTS’s efforts to gain political legitimacy, marred by a questionable human rights record in the areas of Syria where it has ruled, and lingering doubts about the faction’s ability to heal religious divisions. of the country.

Parts of the country also remain devastated by war as Turkish-backed opposition fighters fight. US-allied Kurdish forces in the north, and the Islamic State group and its extremist ideology remain active in areas of the country.

As Syria undergoes a seismic transition, the country finds itself at a historic but still dangerous moment.