1️⃣ *Syrians have flocked to the main square of the capital city Damascus* to mark what many regard as a long-awaited *new dawn after the fall of president Bashar al-Assad*, AFP journalists witnessed. 🇸🇾 *Assad fled to Russia on Sunday after a lightning offensive* spearheaded by *Islamist rebels ousted him from power*, opening a new chapter in Syria's history after five decades of rule by his clan. *AFP journalists at Umayyad Square saw fighters deployed* as joyful residents flocked to the scene *following a nighttime curfew imposed by the rebels* for the capital. *_"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 at the square in the heart of the capital.