No-one slept in Syria last night' - how news of Assad's toppling spread

Damascus residents reported anxiously awaiting news of what was happening in the Syrian capital overnight. After hours of reports of rebels closing in, forces declared Damascus “liberated” from longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad early Sunday. Unverified videos circulating on social media showed people cheering in the streets and welcoming rebel fighters, as well as prisoners being released from the notorious Sanaya prison. “No one slept in Syria last night… no Syrian slept abroad,” said Rania Kataf, who runs the Humans of Damascus Facebook page. “The entire community was holding their phones waiting for the final news.” "How do I feel? Overwhelmed. We all feel like we've been underwater, literally, for thirteen years, and we've all just taken a breath."

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" He said he had had "mixed feelings" since the attacks by rebel groups began, but he was no longer afraid. In the past, he said, he had been "afraid to share an opinion, even to like, to give a heart to someone from the opposition." Another Damascus resident, who asked not to be named, "It's a real feeling of freedom for the first time." He described celebrations on the streets and in Umayyad Square, a landmark in the center of Damascus and home to key government agencies including the defenses ministry and the Syrian armed forces. Residence. "In the central Umayyad Square, people are celebrating in a very peaceful way.

 They are setting off fireworks. Yes, we can hear some gunshots, but mostly fireworks," the resident said. "What we are feeling is really similar to what we felt when the revolution started in 2011. It is a continuation of a dream that started that year." He said Syrians feel fear and anxiety about the future, but "today, all Syrians will just celebrate." Yazan al-Amari runs a small phone shop in Deraa, a town south of Damascus where civilian militias affiliated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham have already taken control. He told that he was heading to the Syrian capital with friends to celebrate today. "When we woke up and saw the news, at first we didn't fully understand it or fully appreciate it. People were very scared by the rumors. "But when we realized it was true, we got in our car and now we are going to Damascus to celebrate." 

"People felt like they were in a dream," he said. "You saw people crying. We were very scared to this day." Al-Amari said it was the first time he had been able to speak freely in years. "I couldn't leave my small town or move around freely," he said. "But now, I can go wherever I want." The Syrian man in London with close family living in the Syrian coastal region, who asked not to be named. "We are Eastern Orthodox Christians, I am afraid my family will be killed," he said. "Everyone is in a state of panic.

 They are trying to find a way out of the country." His family is preparing to leave Syria, but the borders with Lebanon and Jordan are closed. "Bags full, we're just waiting to see if any airports will open flights to any nearby countries. Or if the land border will allow any particular group to leave Syria," he said. "It's a fact that people are celebrating out of fear," he said. "They're celebrating because they're afraid they'll be killed if they don't pretend to be excited.

 On the one hand, we're all happy, on the other hand, the regime is gone, we don't know the outcome of the alternative government. All these rebel groups are branches of al-Qaeda." The group that has taken control of large parts of the country, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has said that Christians are safe.