Syrian rebels are working to form a transitional government, a day after they seized Damascus and toppled President Bashar al Assad. Rebel fighters have been securing public buildings in the capital, where joy at the end of 50 years of authoritarian rule is mixed with anxiety about the future. Syrian civil defence workers have deployed to the ousted Assad regime's notorious Saydnaya prison to investigate reports that people are still trapped in cells hidden underground.

(Photo: Syrian Democratic Forces capture al-Hasakah, Al Hasakah, Syria - 08 Dec 2024 AHMED MARDNLI/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock