Households of these imprisoned by Bashar al-Assad‘s brutal regime desperately searched the filthy cells of Syria‘s most infamous jail for any indicators of their family members because the nation involves phrases with the toppling of his rule.

Within the Sednaya jail, referred to by rights teams as a “human slaughterhouse”, hundreds of individuals are believed to have been detained, tortured or executed throughout Syria’s civil struggle which started in 2011. Sitting simply north of Damascus, it grew to become the main focus for a whole lot of households demanding solutions about what occurred to their kinfolk.

It comes as Israel, US and Turkey additionally launched airstrikes in opposition to websites throughout the nation to guard their pursuits after rebels, led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) pressured Assad to flee, whereas the deposed Syrian president’s former backers Russia and Iran additionally suggesting they’d attain out to the rebels – with Moscow cautious of the destiny of its navy bases within the nation.

On the jail, numerous households had been trawling darkish corridors and hidden cells within the labyrinthine complicated for a hint of family members detained for attending protests, defying authorities or just voicing discontent.

Ahmed Najjar had come to Damascus from Aleppo, hoping to seek out his brother’s two kids, seized by Assad’s safety forces in 2012. “We’re trying. They’re saying there’s an underground jail,” he stated.

Within the wake of hundreds spilling out of the jail having been freed on Sunday rumours had unfold that that hundreds extra inmates had been nonetheless imprisoned in underground cells that would not be reached. The White Helmets rescue organisation, which for years has dug via fallen buildings after air strikes, deployed a workforce however on Monday afternoon they stated that they had but to discover a signal of such cells. A number of occasions, a breakthrough revealed a hidden hallway, prompting bursts of gunfire from rebels to alert the hundreds ready. Cries would go up from the gang, similar to “My son, I am coming, I am coming” or “God, please do not disappoint me”.

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The scenes round Sednaya had been an indication of the difficulties the nation must choosing itself up after a long time of rule by the Assad household, whereas the remainder of the world tries to rapidly work out the way to take care of the Islamist-led rebels that now management the capital, with fears of an influence vacuum in a area that’s already going through struggle in Gaza and a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon. Israel, concerned in these conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, has seized management of a beforehand demilitarised buffer zone in Syrian-controlled territory within the Golan Heights and attacked what it stated had been Assad regime weapons depots with airstrikes.

Gideon Saar, the Israeli international minister, stated the strikes had been to cease arms falling into the palms of these would search to hurt Israel. “That’s why we attacked strategic weapons techniques, for instance, remaining chemical weapons, or long-range missiles and rockets in order that they won’t fall within the palms of extremists,” he stated. The US has struck targets related to Isis in central Syria, whereas Turkey has focused Washington-backed Kurdish forces.

The UK’s international secretary, David Lammy, known as Assad – who the Kremlin stated has been given asylum in Russia – a “monster” with “the blood of numerous innocents on his palms” and that his defeat was additionally a “humiliation” for Moscow and Tehran.

“Assad is the rat of Damascus, fleeing to Moscow along with his tail between his legs. How becoming he ought to find yourself there,” Mr Lammy stated.

However Mr Lammy stated that the downfall of Assad brings “no assure of peace” and nations have been cautious about HTS and its chief often called Abu Mohammed al-Golani, who now desires to make use of his formal identify Ahmad al-Sharaa, on condition that HTS started as an offshoot of al-Qaeda. HTS minimize ties with the jihadists years in the past and has sought to undertaking a extra average picture. Mr Lammy stated that HTS remains to be a proscribed terrorists organisation within the UK and the prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, stated no determination on eradicating HTS from that record is pending “in any respect… it’s far too early”.

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Mr Lammy stated: “We’ll decide HTS by their actions, monitoring intently how they and different events to this battle deal with all civilians in areas they management”. The international secretary added that the group has “supplied assurances” to minorities in Syria to this point and dedicated to co-operate with the worldwide neighborhood on monitoring chemical weapons.

On Monday, the gathering of insurgent teams led by HTS introduced that they may grant amnesty to all these conscripted into Assad’s military, whereas insurgent command additionally urged they’d not inform girls the way to costume. “It’s strictly forbidden to intrude with girls’s costume or impose any request associated to their clothes or look, together with requests for modesty,” the command stated. in an announcement.

Assad’s prime minister, Mohammed Jalali, informed Al Arabiya TV he had agreed at hand energy to the rebels, qith Al Jazeera tv reported the transitional authority can be headed by Mohamed al-Bashir.

Worldwide leaders have stated it’s a second of hope for Syria and this was mirrored on the bottom. Fares Wati, in Idlib, northwestern Syria, stated: “As Syrians, at the present time is a historic turning level for us. Throughout your entire nation, in cities and villages alike, Syria is experiencing an amazing pleasure it hasn’t identified for many years. At the moment, the Syrian individuals have freed themselves from the grip of Assad’s rule, which for therefore lengthy turned the nation into his private fiefdom.”

He added: “These historic moments restore hope to the Syrian individuals and open a brand new chapter of dignity and freedom. The enjoyment we witness in the present day is a testomony to the resilience and dedication of the Syrian individuals, who by no means misplaced hope for a greater future.”

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Ibrahim Olabi, a local of Aleppo who has household there and is on the board of the Syrian British Consortium, stated that the worldwide neighborhood now must step up: “We’d like some involvement and assist for Syrians to rebuild their nation”.

Syrians in neighbouring nations similar to Turkey, the place thousands and thousands fled the civil struggle, have been lining up on the border to return. Turkey is opening its Yayladagi border gate to handle the secure and voluntary return of Syrian migrants it hosts, President Tayyip Erdogan stated on Monday.

The UK additionally introduced it had paused choices on asylum functions from Syrians. 1000’s of Syrians have been granted asylum within the UK, however the House Workplace stated choices on functions would now be paused whereas occasions unfold in Damascus. The UK adopted international locations together with Germany, Austria and Sweden in suspending choices on Syrian instances. Syrians generated the fifth largest quantity of asylum claims to the UK within the 12 months ending September 2024, House Workplace statistics confirmed – behind Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Bangladesh.

House Secretary Yvette Cooper stated: “We all know the scenario in Syria is shifting extraordinarily quick after the autumn of the Assad regime. We’ve seen some individuals returning to Syria. We even have a really fast-moving scenario that we have to intently monitor.

“And that’s the reason like Germany, like France and like different international locations, we now have paused asylum choices on instances from Syria whereas the House Workplace evaluations and displays the present scenario.”

Further reporting by Abdalghany al-Aryan in Aleppo

Reuters contributed to this report