Syrians euphoric but anxious as they survey Assad’s toppled palace

Damascus – Syria’s capital was on autopilot on Tuesday, with no new government in place following the dramatic rebel offensive who overthrew dictator Bashar al-Assad on Sunday. But as the former al-Qaeda branch that led that charge placed some of its top officials in charge of a self-declared transitional administration, many Syrians appeared determined to try to carry on with business as usual.

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

Some efforts are being made to allay the concern. Mohamed al-Bashir, a politician who previously led the local government in parts of northwest Syria and Idlib ruled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, before its extraordinary 12-day offensive, has been named first transition minister for the next three months.

And while anxiety lingers, there was still an excited buzz, especially in the capital Damascus, which until Sunday was home to the Assad family’s brutal half-century-long seizure of power. On Monday, the crowd came to visit one of the former dictator’s houses and meet the Islamist fighters who swept into his city on Sunday.

Those rebel forces, as they patrolled the streets, were on their best behavior, even allowing members of the public to hold up their weapons for smiling photo opportunities.

“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, so she is afraid. But we are telling her… we are waiting for a new Syria. We are all brothers, we are all sisters, we are all one! We are Syrians.”

At another symbol of the regime, the presidential palace, members of the public walked through the vast ceremonial halls where the Assads hosted dignitaries.

The idea of ​​going anywhere near the palace would once have been unimaginable to the general populace. Now, its doors are wide open. CBS News found the palace patrolled by a rebel soldier named Ahmed who was nearly killed in a battle with Assad’s forces nine years ago.

“I was a personal target and was injured in a strike in 2015 at our home. My family members are detained and I don’t know their fate,” Ahmed told CBS News on Monday. “They could be in regime prisons and I hope we can free them.”

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

Parts of the country also remain war-torn as Turkish-backed opposition fighters battle it out US-allied Kurdish forces in the north, and the Islamic State group and its extremist ideology remains active in pockets of the country.

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

Elizabeth Palmer

Elizabeth Palmer is the senior foreign correspondent for CBS News. It is based in the CBS News London Bureau and reports on major events in Europe and the Middle East. Palmer was previously based in Tokyo, and before that in Moscow, for CBS News.