Syrian rescuers searched a jail synonymous with the worst atrocities of ousted president Bashar al-Assad鈥檚 rule, as people in the capital flocked to a central square Monday to celebrate their country鈥檚 freedom.
Assad fled Syria as Islamist-led rebels swept into the capital, bringing to a spectacular end on Sunday five decades of brutal rule by his clan over a country ravaged by one of the deadliest wars of the century.
On Monday, rescuers from the Syrian White Helmets group said that they were searching for potential secret doors or basements in Saydnaya prison, though they said that there was no immediate sign that anyone was trapped.
鈥榃e are working with all our energy to reach a new hope, and we must be prepared for the worst,鈥� the organisation said in a statement, urging families of the missing to have 鈥榩atience鈥�.
Aida Taha, 65, said that she had been 鈥榬oaming the streets like a madwoman鈥� in search of her brother, who was arrested in 2012. 鈥榃e鈥檝e been oppressed long enough; we want our children back.鈥�
While Syria has been at war for over 13 years, the government鈥檚 collapse ended up coming in a matter of days, with a lightning offensive launched by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
In central Damascus on Monday, despite all the uncertainty over the future, the joy was palpable.
鈥業t鈥檚 indescribable, we never thought this nightmare would end, we are reborn,鈥� 49-year-old Rim Ramadan, a civil servant at the finance ministry, told AFP.
鈥榃e were afraid for 55 years of speaking, even at home, we used to say the walls had ears,鈥� Ramadan said, as people honked their car horns and rebels fired their guns into the air. 鈥榃e feel like we鈥檙e living a dream.鈥�
Others, like Fadwa Mahmoud, whose husband and son are missing, posted calls for help finding their missing relatives.
鈥榃here are you, Maher and Abdel Aziz, it鈥檚 time for me to hear your news, oh God, please come back, let my joy become complete,鈥� wrote Mahmoud, herself a former detainee.
US president Joe Biden said Assad should be 鈥榟eld accountable鈥� as he called his downfall 鈥榓 historic opportunity鈥� for the people of Syria. 鈥楾he fall of the regime is a fundamental act of justice.鈥�
Amnesty International also called for perpetrators of rights violations to face justice, with its chief Agnes Callamard urging the forces that ousted Assad to 鈥榖reak free from the violence of the past鈥�.
鈥楢ny political transition must ensure accountability for perpetrators of serious violations and guarantee that those responsible are held to account,鈥� UN rights chief Volker Turk said on Monday.