Jawlani has moved to form a transitional government, get the buses running and turn the power back on.

Roaming the opulent Damascus home of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Abu Omar felt a sense of giddy defiance being in the residence of the man he said had long oppressed him. They oppressed us in incredible ways,

Rapturous celebrations in the streets of the capital were tempered by trepidation over whether the city’s new rebel caretakers could deliver a better future.