'Today we are celebrating a new Syria': Mass rallies mark end of Assad regime

 

In the Al-Muhajiren neighbourhood in Damascus, the owner of a sweet shop, Mahmoud Abdul Haq, is getting the shutters of his shop re-painted.

During the Assad regime, shops, restaurants and businesses were mandated to paint the red, white and black flag with two green stars on their shutters.

"If we didn't do it, we would have been imprisoned. Now that Bashar [al-Assad] is gone, I want to get rid of any sign of him."

"I’m painting over the flag and my shop’s shutters will be plain white, representing peace. I've even offered to get the shutters of all my neighbours re-painted,” Mahmoud tells us.

As we drove through the neighbourhood, we saw a few more people also covering over the flags painted on their shutters.

• Mass rallies are taking place across Syria to celebrate the end of five decades of authoritarian rule by the Assad regime

• Images from Damascus and other cities show people taking to the streets after Islamist rebels seized power last Sunday

• Former President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia, where he and his family have been given asylum, after rebels captured the capital Damascus

• Rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, has pledged to pursue officials suspected of torture and said he would close notorious Assad-era prisons

• Elsewhere, diplomatic moves are gathering pace to stabilise the country. Members of the G7 nations, who will meet virtually today, say they're ready to support an inclusive and non-sectarian government

• https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cn9g1rg0y7yt