Syrians celebrate fall of Bashar al-Assad after five decades of dynastic rule

Citizens dream of a better future but some are wary of Islamist groups claiming to represent them

The people of Syria have celebrated the fall of Bashar al-Assad and dared to dream of a better future after five decades of dynastic rule came to a sudden and unexpected end with the dictator fleeing to Moscow.

Crowds of people waved the Syrian revolutionary flag and pulled down statues and portraits of the president and his father, Hafez, while celebratory gunfire and car horns echoed around Damascus on Sunday as an astonishing rebel advance reached the capital.