
Thousands of jubilant people rallied in cities across Syria, including at a landmark mosque in the capital Damascus, to celebrate during the first Friday prayers since the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad.
More than half a century of brutal rule by the Assad clan came to a sudden end on Sunday, after a lightning rebel offensive swept across the country and took the capital.
Assad fled Syria, closing an era in which suspected dissidents were jailed or killed, and capping nearly 14 years of war that killed more than 5,00,000 people and displaced millions.
Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, head of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham which spearheaded the offensive, called on Syrians 鈥榯o go to the streets to express their joy鈥� on Friday to mark 鈥榯he victory of the blessed revolution鈥�.
During the early days of Syria鈥檚 uprising in 2011, pro-democracy protesters used to give their Friday gatherings a different name every week. The latest rally was called the 鈥楩riday of victory鈥�.
Interim prime minister Mohammed al-Bashir addressed a large congregation at Damascus鈥檚 landmark Umayyad Mosque.
Thousands flocked to the mosque, some raising the three-star Syrian independence flag which none dared wave in the capital during Assad鈥檚 iron-fisted rule.
Exhilarated crowds chanted 鈥榯he Syrian people is one!鈥�
鈥業 still feel like I鈥檓 dreaming,鈥� said 52-year-old Khalil Rimo.
鈥業 still can鈥檛 believe that I鈥檓 standing next to the Umayyad Mosque and there are no government thugs鈥� asking for ID, Rimo said.
鈥榃e are gathering because we鈥檙e happy Syria has been freed, we鈥檙e happy to have been liberated from the prison in which we lived,鈥� said Nour Thi al-Ghina, 38.
Thousands of people also gathered in the squares and streets in other Syrian cities, including Homs, Hama and Idlib.
There was a festive and relaxed atmosphere as hundreds rallied in the main square of Syria鈥檚 second city Aleppo, a scene of fierce fighting during the country鈥檚 civil war, AFP correspondents reported.
A huge billboard depicting Assad and his father Hafez was set on fire.
鈥楾he Assad father and son oppressed us, but we have liberated our country from injustice,鈥� a white-bearded policeman at the scene said.
In the southern city of Sweida, the heartland of Syria鈥檚 Druze minority where anti-government demonstrations have been held for more than a year, hundreds took to the streets, singing and clapping in jubilation.
鈥極ur joy is indescribable,鈥� said Haitham Hudeifa, 54. 鈥楨very province is celebrating this great victory.鈥�
Sunni Muslim HTS is rooted in Syria鈥檚 branch of al-Qaeda and designated a terrorist organisation by many Western governments, who now face the challenge of how to approach the country鈥檚 new leadership.
The group has sought to moderate its rhetoric, and the interim government insists the rights of all Syrians will be protected 鈥� as will the rule of law.
The United Nations refugee agency said on Friday that the new government had sent 鈥榗onstructive鈥� initial signals, including asking the organisation to stay in the country.
Leaders of the Group of Seven countries, who were due to meet virtually on Friday, said they were ready to support the transition to an 鈥榠nclusive and non-sectarian鈥� government in Syria.
They called for the protection of human rights, including those of women and minorities, while emphasising 鈥榯he importance of holding the Assad regime accountable for its crimes鈥�.
Inside much of Syria, the focus is turning towards unravelling the secrets of Assad鈥檚 rule, and particularly the network of detention centres and suspected torture sites scattered across areas previously under government control.
Syrians have flooded to prisons, hospitals and morgues in search of long-disappeared loved ones, hoping for a miracle, or at least closure.
鈥業 turned the world upside down looking,鈥� Abu Mohammed told AFP as he searched for news of three missing relatives at the Mazzeh airbase in Damascus.
鈥楤ut I didn鈥檛 find anything at all. We just want a hint of where they were, one per cent.鈥�
The International Committee of the Red Cross said it has documented over 35,000 cases of disappearances during Assad鈥檚 rule, adding the true number was likely far higher.
Assad was propped up by Russia 鈥� where a senior Russian official told US media he has fled 鈥� as well as Iran and Lebanon鈥檚 Hezbollah militant group.
The rebels launched their offensive on November 27, the same day a ceasefire took effect in the Israel-Hezbollah war, which saw Israel inflict staggering losses on Assad鈥檚 Lebanese ally.
Both Israel and Turkey, which backs some of the rebels who ousted Assad, have since carried out strikes inside Syria.
Speaking on Thursday in Jordan, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed the importance of 鈥榥ot sparking any additional conflicts鈥� after mentioning both Israeli and Turkish military activity in Syria.
In an unannounced visit to Baghdad on Friday, Blinken said that 鈥榓s Syria transitions from the Assad dictatorship to hopefully a democracy鈥�, it should 鈥榥ot become in any way a platform for terrorism鈥�.
Washington has troops in both Syria and Iraq as part of a coalition against the Islamic State group.
Hours after Assad鈥檚 ouster, Israel sent troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone that separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights, in a move the UN said violated a 1974 armistice.
Israeli troops have been ordered to 鈥榩repare to remain鈥� in the buffer zone throughout the winter, Defence Minister Israel Katz鈥檚 office said on Friday.
Syrians meanwhile face a struggle for basic necessities in a country ravaged by war, sanctions and runaway inflation.
On Friday, the European Union announced the launch of an 鈥榓ir bridge鈥� operation to deliver an initial 50 tonnes of health supplies to Syria via neighbouring Turkey.