Sawt Falasteen - Syrians celebrate new day after Assad's fall

A lightning offensive spearheaded by Islamist rebels ousted Assad from power on Sunday, opening a new chapter in Syria's history after five decades of rule by his clan.

The Kremlin on Monday declined to confirm reports that ally Assad had fled to Moscow.

AFP journalists at Damascus's Umayyad Square saw fighters deployed as joyful residents flocked to the scene following a rebel-imposed nighttime curfew in the city.

"It's indescribable, we never thought this nightmare would end, we are reborn," 49-year-old Rim Ramadan, a civil servant at the finance ministry, told AFP from the square in the heart of the capital.

"We were afraid for 55 years of speaking, even at home, we used to say the walls had ears," Ramadan said, as people honked their car horns and rebels fired their guns into the air.

"We feel like we're living a dream," she added.

The end of Assad's rule follows a 13-year-old civil war sparked by a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

The war killed more than 500,000 people and forced half the pre-war population to flee their homes, many millions of them abroad.

Assad inherited from his father, Hafez al-Assad, a system under which anyone suspected of dissent could be jailed or killed.

- 'Set free' -

"I came out today, and I thank God... there is nothing to fear," said Abdelmonem Naqli, 40.

"We just hope that the economy will get back on track, and everything will go well," he added.

Some neighbourhoods were deserted, another AFP journalist saw, and many shops remained closed even after the curfew was lifted.

Public institutions as well as schools were closed, and an AFP correspondent saw fighters deployed near the central bank.

"Thank God, we have been set free," said Aamer al-Debass, 61.

"Now, we are waiting for things to get better bit by bit," he added.

Assad relied on his alliances with Russia and Iran to remain at the helm despite the mass protests and armed rebellion.

But on November 27, a coalition of rebels led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham launched an offensive that tore through the country, wresting control of city after city until they reached Damascus on Sunday.

In a matter of days, the grip of the army and security forces collapsed and rebels moved into the main cities of Aleppo, Hama and Homs, before entering the capital, bringing about an end to decades of Baath party rule.

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Z.Ramadan--SF-PST