Not even the most optimistic of rebels could have predicted the rapid collapse, last weekend, of the Assad dynasty that ruled Syria with an iron fist for more than 50 years. Yet while there was relief and joy both inside Syria and among the nation’s vast displaced diaspora, it was also accompanied by apprehension over what might come next.
Our reporter William Christou was quick to reach Syria from Beirut in Lebanon, where he is based. Once across the border, he was taken on a tour of liberated Damascus by rebel commanders, accompanied by the sound of gunfire not from fighting but from citizens discharging rifles into the air in celebration.
