New Syria PM says will ‘guarantee’ all religious groups’ rights

In Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city and the first major one captured by the rebels in their offensive, shopkeeper Ramadan Dali, 70, said that “we are starting to feel safe”.

Juman Khilaly, 40, said that “there is still a lot of uncertainty” over even the most basic aspects of life, like school for her 10-year-old child and soaring prices.

“Everything is so expensive,” she said.

In the Assads’ home village Qardaha, the tomb of the former leader’s father was set alight, AFP footage showed, with rebel fighters in fatigues and young men watching it burn.

The Baath party of the deposed president announced it would suspend its work “in all its forms … until further notice” and hand over assets to the authorities.