hayat tahriral—sham. i than this system, than hayat tahrir al—sham.ething like they refuse. really good to talk to you, and the best of luck to you and let�*s hope you can go back to syria very soon. thank you very much for being with us.- much for being with us. thank ou, much for being with us. thank you. too- _ let�*s speak tojoanne cummings, professor at baylor university with a career in us diplomacy serving extensively in the middle east. thank you very much for being with us. what are your thoughts now about what the rest of the world should do about syria, habre should syria reconstruct and rebuild and achieve hopefully some sort of path to stability and democracy? excellent questions all. i think— excellent questions all. i think we have to recognise that there _ think we have to recognise that there in— think we have to recognise that there in a — think we have to recognise that there in a sense three different things that are going to happen concurrently in some ways _ to happen concurrently in some ways but — to happen concurrently in some

the leader of hayat tahrir al-sham _ my 40 saw. the leader of hayat tahrir al-sham in _ my 40 saw. n damascus. hours after taking control of the syrian capital. we found out he is touring the historical landmarks and a short while ago he was in the square to thank god in a prayer. and he will now head inside the mask, the city's distinctive monument. —— make the a historic moment in every sense of the word. he was here for the first time in the great since taking control and ousting the president. figs since taking control and ousting the president. as we have been — ousting the president. as we have been hearing _ ousting the president. as we have been hearing here, - ousting the president. as we i have been hearing here, russia has played a huge part in what has played a huge part in what has happened. the press in moscow has confirmed that he has sought asylum in russia and been accepted. earlier we spoke to anna borshchevskaya, a fellow at the washington institute and author of "putin's war in syria: russian foreign policy and the price of america's absence". she told us she isn'

>> hayat tahrir al sham illicit hayat tahrir al sham is one of the factions in the region. >> just like we're talking about a larger project. we're talking about building syria hayat tahrir al sham is merely one detail of this dialog and it may dissolve at any time. >> it's not an end in itself, but a means to perform a task. confronting this regime. >> so danny when you hear that, do you have confidence that this group won't just usher in a new era of violence or some different type of authoritarian rule well typically you'd say that going to the end of the day. >> but what we've seen, especially in locations such as aleppo, is the decline of these radical sentiments where, you know, you have a lot of minorities in aleppo. it's an area which has a lot of, uh it's far more diverse than other places in syria. and hayat tahrir al-sham have been aleppo been very uh, uh, positive with the minorities, and they have massacres or, you know taking out minorities. so what we can definitely say is that there is a behavioral change, even if even if it might be minimal. but in damascus hama, homs,

but hayat tahrir al—sham or hts�* takeover has sparked concerns for ethnic and religious minorities. t past. minorities say they are worried about islamic rule, and those from bashar al—assad s alawite community are worried there might be retribution against them. the bbc�*s yogita limaye reports from damascus with aamir peerzada and sanjay ganguly. the dictator has fallen and fled. but what of the community he belonged to? bashar al assad is from the islamic alawite sect. it's one of syria's biggest minorities, but it's controlled power over a majority sunni muslim country for 50 years. in a working class alawite neighbourhood of damascus, a few agree to speak to us. dozens of others refused. i asked if they feared revenge. translation: so far, we are ok. hayat tahrir al—sham has been respectful to us, but there are groups pretending to be hts who are making threats. we are scared of them. many from the alawite sect and indeed this neighbourhood worked in assad's forces. where are they, i asked? translation: everyone - who worked with the military and did bad things has fled. but peo

now the house is secured by victorious fighters from hayat tahrir al—sham, hts.they would not have dared to look through the gate. the visitors were still getting used to living without fear of the regime. translation: people were living in hell- and he was in his palace. he didn't care about what they were going through. he made them live in fear, hunger and humiliation. even after we entered damascus, people would only whisper to us because they were still afraid. anger at the assads is a family affair. much stronger revenge was on the minds of the crowd in tadamon, a quarter of damascus that suffered grievously. their fury against bashar al—assad deepened in 2013, when military intelligence operatives forced at least 41 local men into a mass grave and shot them dead. there's a video. that's one of the killers. another, abu muntajab, is being held near here, and the people had come to watch him being hanged. imagine if someone knocked on your door and brought you by force, and did not tell you anything, the reason of why you are getting killed. throughout the a

>> hayat tahrir al sham illicit hayat tahrir al sham is one of the factions in the region just like all the others. >> now we're talking about a larger project. we're talking about building syria hayat tahrir al sham is merely one detail of this dialog and it may dissolve at any time. it's not an end in itself, but a means to perform a task confronting this regime the biden administration has said it is, quote, watching what is going on in syria. >> the us president elect, donald trump, has said the u.s. should stay out of what is going on there. it is not our war, he said and is applauding the russians for example, who he says has have no interest in syria of abandoning president bashar al-assad. now, we all know, of course that the russians indeed do have an interest in syria. they just clearly don't have any interest in this current regime, which has now fallen far as you as you consider what is going on on the ground and as you describe your impressions of what may happen next. um how should the u.s. be gaming this out? >> well, i mean, i think the u.s. is conflicted. on the one han

hayat tahrir al—sham.to coordinate their messages, be more inclusive, bringing other members of civil society and to governance here? if members of civil society and to governance here?— governance here? if there is ever regional _ governance here? if there is ever regional and _ governance here? if there is i ever regional and international consensus over what happens in syria that would benefit syria and the syrians a lot. it is unfortunate that the regional parties do not see eye to eye. if each one of them start pushing their own direction, for example, if the turks decide to go after the kurds of syria in the north—east, that will be problematic and that will be problematic and that will cause the kurds to step back, not tojoin damascus, the new government in damascus, and probably keep their arms to defend themselves. so this is only one wrinkle, i can think of many others. if these wrinkles are not taken care of at the level of foreign ministers of the region, i think the road will be a bit bumpy fo

hayat tahrir al—sham's fighters, heroes for those here for liberating them.a jihadist past deliver the democratic rule that hani told us he wants? i think, based on the last 13 years, hayat tahrir al—sham has changed a lot. they started maybe as part of al-qaeda, but now they are syrians, purely they are syrians. i think in the coming days, we will see good things from these guys. noor is a nurse. she believes hts won't impose hardline rule, especially on women. "they are from our country, they are not islamic state. "we're not afraid of them. "i don't think they will force us to cover ourselves from head to toe." today, the man at the centre of it all, dressed in his usual damascus is still largely shut down, and there is a curfew from dusk till dawn. at a police station, we met hts men brought in to protect it. we asked what would happen to the men who fought for assad. translation: our revolution is not for revenge. _ any policeman who does not have blood on their hands, we will work with them. the looting and vandalising that was seen on the first day, th

>> hayat tahrir al sham. and he listed hayat tahrir al sham is one of the factions in the region, just like all the others now we're talking about a larger project. >> we're talking about building syria. hayat tahrir al sham is merely one detail of this dialog and it may dissolve at any time it's not an end in itself, but a means to perform a task confronting this regime a little bit more about the thinking by al-julani there you talked about the prime minister who spoke about wanting to be involved in a transition period a peaceful transition period in the past hour or so, we've seen seen him being walked out of a building by rebels who are now in damascus. >> the whereabouts of president assad still unknown, reports that he got on a flight out of damascus possibly headed in the direction of russia no further details about where that flight, if indeed he was on it and has ended up the russians seem to have decided that they have no further interest in syria after a significant military presence and support fo

hayat tahrir al—sham's fighters, heroes for those here for liberating them.ast deliver the democratic rule that hani told us he wants? i think, based on the last 13 years, hayat tahrir al—sham has changed they started maybe as part of al-anda, but now they are syrians, purely they are syrians. i think in the coming days we will see good things from these guys. noor is a nurse. she believes hts won't impose hardline rule, especially on women. "they are from our country, they are not islamic state. "we're not afraid of them. "i don't think they will force us to cover ourselves from head to toe." today, the man at the centre of it all, dressed in his usual military attire, hts leader mohammed abu al—jolani, met the interim prime minister to discuss the way forward. so far, there is little clarity on what that could be. damascus is still largely shut down, and there is a curfew from dusk till dawn. at a police station, we met hts men brought in to protect it. we asked what would happen to the men who fought for assad. translation: our revolution is not for reveng

members of hayat tahrir al—sham are seen trying to put it out. said they had captured the perpetrators, who were foreign fighters. hayat tahrir al—sham is the group that brought down bashar al—assad. they began as a jihadist organisation wanting to establish a state governed by islamic law. since taking over, its leaders have vowed to protect the rights of the country's diverse religious and ethnic groups. translation: to be honest, we are not protected. - we are scared. they need to publicly catch those who are creating problems, and if they are foreigners they should leave. this transitional phase comes with uncertainties for many people, including minorities. and such incidents will increase the worries and fears among them. there are people who have vested interest in spreading those fears, and it will take time for the new government to maintain stability, and for people here in syria, to adjust to the new reality. this video, shared on social media, shows a religious leaderfrom hts promising to light up the tree again together. as the crowd

hayat tahrir al—sham's fighters, heroes for those here for liberating them.hadist past deliver the democratic rule that hani told us he wants? i think, based on the last 13 years, hayat tahriral—sham has changed a lot. they started maybe as part of al-anda, but now they are syrians, purely they are syrians. i think in the coming days, we will see good things from these guys. noor is a nurse. she believes hts won't impose hardline rule, especially on women. "they are from our country, they are not islamic state. "we're not afraid of them. "i don't think they will force us to cover ourselves from head to toe." today, the man at the centre of it all, dressed in his usual military attire, hts leader mohammed abu al—jolani, met the interim prime minister to discuss the way forward. so far, there is little clarity on what that could be. damascus is still largely shut down, and there is a curfew from dusk till dawn. at a police station, we met hts men brought in to protect it. we asked what would happen to the men who fought for assad. translation: our revolution is

the sunni ranks of hayat tahrir al—sham. a little over a week ago, they were enemies of the state.e the law of the land. in a city of regime loyalists, every call—out is a show of force. still, they are greeted as liberators, and these young fighters are now the city's police force. they are heading to deal with an assault in this neighbourhood. weapons have been drawn. they move fast to find the suspects, who they believe are still armed. as they set up a cordon, neighbours identify men and accuse them of links to the former regime. shouting. across syria, scores are being settled. after years of oppression here on the streets, there is a thirst for vengeance. it's a situation that could easily spiral out of control. so the man they are arresting is accused of being shabiha — a government informant, a regime informant. the neighbours are screaming from the rooftop that that is exactly what he was. so him and a number of other men are being taken into custody. translation: you will go to the authorities and if you are innocent, you will get your rights, god willing. but the wrongdo

hayat tahrir al—sham has also promised that the freedoms of minorities will be protected.issue for syria's plural society. this is the christian quarter of damascus. now, we have seen christmas decorations up in some parts of the city, but people who live here tell us the decorations here are more muted than they have been before. christians have told us that they do feel reassured by hts's promises, but that there is still uncertainty, and there are still worries about the form of government that this country will have in the future. we met youssef sabbagh, a lawyer from the christian community. i'm so happy because the assad fall. this is like a dream come true. but there is concern, i have to be realistic. a lot of syrians, muslims and all other minorities don't wish that syria will be a new afghanistan. we don't want to live under something like taliban. 70 miles from damascus, we drove to the city of suwayda, dominated by the druze — another religious minority. at the city's central square, the druze have gathered to watch their children perform, celebrating the fall

hayat tahrir al—sham has a jihadist past and an islamist present.n community is one of the oldest in the world. this is the christian quarter of damascus. now, we have seen christmas decorations up in some parts of the city, but people who live here tell us the decorations here are more muted than they have been before. christians have told us that they do feel reassured by hts�*s promises, but that there is still uncertainty, and there are still worries about the form of government that this country will have in the future. we met yusuf sabag, a lawyer from the christian community. i'm so happy- because assad fall. this is like a dream come true. but there is concern. i have to be realistic. htc will. .. ..are here now and they are islamic militia. - that's what they are. 0k, iwant them, i need, i wish, i pray they will bej modern islamic militia. it's a moment of hope in syria, but also one of uncertainty. yogita limaye, bbc news, damascus. let's get some other main stories this hour. police in nigeria say 22 people are now known to have been kill

we've really seen is at the at the tip of the spear of this offensive has been a group called hayat tahrir al sham or tass. now 7 or 8 years ago, they were a publicly avowed affiliate of al qaeda. the group has changed in some quite dramatic ways over the last eight years. it remains very conservative, but its governance practices are far more pragmatic than than certainly than they used to be. a lot of the steps that group has taken to moderate its stance and to kind of embed itself more deeply in the syrian revolutionary movement has seen this much greater unity of purpose that has been demonstrated over the past 12 days, in which the entire spectrum of the armed opposition in syria, from nationalists and everyone else in between, have unified unified to to launch this territorial offensive. and i think for the first time in 13 or 14 years, that unity has really made a difference on the ground. um, and then, of course, beyond that, there is the political opposition that maintains offices across the middle east region that maintains open and very constructive relations with the international comm

assad two weeks ago, ahmed al—sharaa also called for the west to stop designating his group, hayat tahrir al—shams, as a terrorist organisation. hts, which split from al-qaeda in 2016, says it is no longer a jihadist or extremist group. he says they do not target civilians, and consider themselves victims of the assad regime. our international editor, jeremy bowen, sat down with ahmad al—shaara in damascus. the de facto leader of syria, ahmed al—sharaa, chose to do the interview in the presidential palace built by the assads. he told me he wasn't surprised that the old regime collapsed so quickly. syrians, he said, needed to keep calm to tackle all the problems they face. you've made a lot of promises, you've said you will respect the mosaic of different sectarian groups here in syria — minorities as well. are you going to keep those promises? translation: the syrian . population has lived together for thousands of years. we're going to discuss all of it. we're going to have dialogue and make sure everyone is represented. the old regime always played on sectarian divisions, but we won't. we were

west to talk with the current _ to talk with the current administration because even hts or hayat tahrir al—shameality. it controls more or less with other militant groups. —— ahmed al—sharaa. they say before anthony blinken, the foreign secretary and david lammy inaudible no talk about lifting them from the terrorist list. £15 million was announced for syria in humanitarian aid. there are attempts to open and forget the past hours hayat tahrir al—sham for the sake of the syrians. syrian owned, syrian lead and to be inclusive of government so talk to encourage this current administration to take syria from what it has been through over the last few years or 50 years from operation and torture and that stuff to a new era and that should be supported by the international community. supported by the international community-— supported by the international communi . . _ ., , community. the many challenges facina community. the many challenges facin: the community. the many challenges facing the new— community. the many challenges facing the new government - - facing the new government — what is the

as life slowly returns to normal in syria — the takeover by hayat tahrir al—sham, or hts, is causing der ahmad al—sharra has a jihadist past. minorities including christians say they are worried. from the syrian capital, damascus, here's yogita limaye. the dictator has fallen and fled. but what of the community he belonged to? bashar al assad is from the islamic alawite sect. it's one of syria's biggest minorities, but it's controlled power over a majority sunni muslim country for 50 years. in a working class alawite neighbourhood of damascus, a few agree to speak to us. dozens of others refused. i asked if they feared revenge. translation: so far. we are okay. hayat tahrir al—sham has been respectful to us, but there are groups pretending to be hts who are making threats. we are scared of them. many from the alawite sect and indeed this neighbourhood worked in assad's forces. where are they, i asked? translation: everyone who worked with the - military and did bad things has fled. but people who do not have blood on their hands, they are not scared and have stayed back. the men who'v

hayat tahrir al—sham fighters are seen as heroes for liberating these people.hat has a jihadist past deliver the democratic rule that many here want? this woman says, "they are from our country, they are not islamic state, we are not afraid of them." syria's stability depends for now on the man wearing military clothing — abu mohammed al—jolani, the leader of hayat tahrir al—sham. here, he was meeting the interim prime minister to discuss the way forward. he succeeded in uniting rebel groups and capturing the whole country in under two weeks. he said rewards will be given for information on assad officials involved in war crimes. meanwhile, these syrian refugees in turkey are facing the dilemma of whether to return home to syria. like germany, like france and like other countries, we have paused asylum decisions on cases from syria while the home office reviews and monitors the current situation. what will syrian refugees return to, and how can those living in the country deal with the demons of its past? aruna iyengar, bbc news. let's pick up on some of those

his hayat tahrir al—sham group, or hts, was the key rebel group that overthrew president bashar al—assad an islamist organisation that was once associated with al-qaeda and that's causing concern for some minorities. our correspondent yogita limaye has visited communities in the town of suweida in syria's south, and in the capital damascus — and sent this report. the dictator has fallen and fled. but what of the community he belonged to? bashar al—assad is from the islamic alawite sect. it's one of syria's biggest minorities, but it's controlled power over a majority sunni muslim country for 50 years. in a working—class alawite neighbourhood of damascus, a few agree to speak to us. dozens of others refused. i asked if they feared revenge. translation: hayat tahrir al—sham has been respectful to us, but there are groups pretending to be hts who are making threats. we are scared of them. they are careful when they speak, and are keen to distance themselves from the regime. but many from the alawite sect — and indeed this neighbourhood — were a part of assad's brutal forces. "where are they

hayat tahrir al-sham says they are working to show that their right to worship won't be at risk. biden administration is contemplating whether to formally recognize hts, a u.s.-designated terrorist organization as syria's new transitional government. we went to idlib to speak to its members. what is your message to syria's minorities? that this is a new syria, and the new syria is for everyone. early on, war planes targeted several homes and villages in idlib, including this predominantly christian village. we were shown the church this man first worshipped in as a boy. this is the church. [speaking in a global language] i'm feeling very happy that i returned home, he says. what do you want for christians and other minorities in this new government, this new future for your country? we want hayat tahrir al sham who had faith in god almighty, to rebuild our country. and the u.n. has called for a quick end of sanctions against syria as world powers plan a path forward. a task of reconstruction made more so as the terrorist organization. >>> a frantic rescue effort in rough sees in

but the leader of hayat tahrir al—sham, made no comment on the strikes — he is busy setting up for thenight, he appointed an interim cabinet and met with the former prime minister to discuss handover of duties. he wants services to resume and for people to go back to their daily life. the newly appointed interim government is sending mixed signals, as it is all islamist. but there are things that needs to be done so safety prevails. translation: i hope that safety and security are restored - in syria because we as syrians deserve to live better, we deserve to live in peace, safety and prosperity, and for the coming days, i hope all different sects can live together hand in hand. there is no need for revenge, we need to open a new chapter. but the leader of hayat tahrir al—sham, made no comment on the strikes — he is busy setting up for the new government. last night, he appointed an interim cabinet and met with the former prime minister to discuss handover of duties. he wants services to resume and for people to go back to their daily life. the newly appointed interim government is sen

we know the leader of hayat tahrir al-sham, abu mohammed al-jolani has met with the interim prime minister are no clear details about the way forward exactly. in the day, we went to some government buildings, police stations in the city to see what was exactly happening there. outside we found members of hts, who said they were deployed this morning, that they had come in from idlib, a region that has long been secured by hts, to secure the city, to ensure there is no looting or vandalism, some of which we saw on sunday. there is a curfew from 5:00 in the evening until 5:00 in the morning, butn the central square of the city, it was still very much a second day of celebrations. hundreds, possibly thousands of civilians coming in cars, families packed in honking their horns, singing, cheering, clapping. just continuously a barrage of celebratory gunfire literally to the extent where all the roads around the square were littered with spent bullets. lewis: to get more analysis now, we can speak to a senior fellow at the foundation for defense of democracies. thank you for coming on the progra

>> hayat tahrir al sham hayat tahrir al-sham is one of the factions in the region, just like all the e're talking about a larger project. we're talking about building syria hayat tahrir al sham is merely one detail of this dialog and it may dissolve at any time. >> it's not an end in itself, but a means to perform a task confronting this regime jomana kory honea is on the ground in aleppo with rare access to the group and she brings us this look at the aftermath of the rebel offensive this is the bassel roundabout, named after the deceased brother of the syrian president, bashar al-assad, and one of the first things that people did when rebel forces took over the city of aleppo was toppled. >> the statue of bassel, a symbol of the assad regime. this is an area where there were fierce battles with regime forces and since then, in the past few days there's been an airstrike that killed many people. you can still see the aftermath of that. the blood on the floor here and speaking to people in the city, this is what they fear. they fear that there will be more russian and syrian regime ai

hayat tahrir al—sham has a jihadist past and an islamist present.iety believe their promises? this is the christian quarter of damascus. now, we have seen christmas decorations up in some parts of the city, but people who live here tell us the decorations here are more muted than they have been before. christians have told us that they do feel reassured by hts's promises, but that there is still uncertainty, and there are still worries about the form of government that this country will have in the future. we met yusuf sabag, a lawyer from the christian community. i'm so happy because the assad fall. - this is like a dream come true. but there is concern. i have to be realistic. here a lot of sodiums, muslims and all other_ here a lot of sodiums, muslims and all other minorities, _ here a lot of sodiums, muslims and all other minorities, do _ here a lot of sodiums, muslims and all other minorities, do not - here a lot of sodiums, muslims and all other minorities, do not wish - all other minorities, do not wish for cilia — all other minorities, do no

a quick . question to you again about us policy on this and particularly with dealing with hayat tahrir al—shamthe us cannot have any dealings with it, the other western democracies cannot have any dealings with it? . , , , cannot have any dealings with it? . , , ., it? unnecessarily. i up for recent examples, - it? unnecessarily. i up for recent examples, look- it? unnecessarily. i up for recent examples, look at| it? unnecessarily. i up for i recent examples, look at us dealings _ recent examples, look at us dealings with the time when the last administration of donald trump — last administration of donald trump when they're looking at putting — trump when they're looking at pulling out of afghanistan, he had even _ pulling out of afghanistan, he had even contemplated having taliban — had even contemplated having taliban leaders coming to me at camp— taliban leaders coming to me at camp david in the us and again these _ camp david in the us and again these are — camp david in the us and again these are an organisation who harboured the terrorists who ptotted — harboured the terrorists who plo

this is the first time that ahmed al—shara, known as al—jolani, the leader of the hayat tahrir al—shamair strikes. it's been a week since the toppling of the president, bashar al—assad, but also a week of israeli air strikes on syria, nearly 400 throughout the week and 60 this night. so mr al—shara is under pressure that he has to make comments, that he has to address this issue. he has been under criticism from, you know, syrians here. so he made his statement saying that israel is using false pretexts in its attacks on syria, but at the same time made sure that he doesn't want to engage in any conflict — he's focused on rebuilding syria, on rebuilding the economy. and this is what we are seeing today. it is the first week, the first day of the week after the toppling of assad. universities are open. i'm actually now in damascus, university students are pouring in to the university, going to classes. the children went to school this morning as well. public institutions are open, so everything is going back into action. and it seems that, you know, this is the focus of this interim gov

assad two weeks ago, ahmed al—sharaa also called for the west to stop designating his group, hayat tahrir al—shams, as a terrorist organisation. hts, which split from al-qaeda in 2016, says it is no longer a jihadist or extremist group. he says they do not target civilians, and consider themselves victims of the assad regime. welcome to newsday. i'm katie silver. the head of the rebel group which now controls large parts of syria has told the bbc the country is exhausted by war, and poses no threat. the un estimates 100,000 refugees have already returned to the country. ahmed al—sharaa said western sanctions had to be lifted for more syrians to come back. in one of his first television interviews since his forces toppled president assad two weeks ago, ahmed al—sharaa also called for the west to stop designating his group, hayat tahrir al—sham or hts, as a terrorist organisation. hts, which split from al-qaeda in 2016, says it is no longer a jihadist or extremist group. he says they do not target civilians, and consider themselves victims of the assad regime. our international editor, jeremy bowen

back then, the group leading this latest advance — hayat tahrir al—sham — was set up under a different, as a direct affiliate of al-qaeda. its leader, abu mohammed al—jawlani, has since publicly broke ranks with al-qaeda, and set up a new organisation, taking that new name hayat tahrir al—sham. last week, they seized control of aleppo, the first time rebels have controlled syria's second largest city since 2016. they've been pushing south ever since, capturing hama, a key central city they were never able to capture before. they are now on their way to homs, a strategic city linking the capital to the mediterranean coast. al—jawlani has told residents of homs "your time has come". 0ur middle east correspondent hugo bachega was at the turkish—syrian border. it's an astonishing offensive by these rebels. last week, they captured aleppo, syria's second largest city. yesterday hama. and now they are on their way to homs, which is the country's third largest city, a strategic city in central syria. it connects the capital, damascus, to the north of the country and also to the coast, the hea

and it is true that the hayat tahrir al—sham, has been governing in the western province of northwesternnce of idlib for some time, and they have paid attention to things like the condition of the roads and the power and so on. and the mrjuwlani himself has commented about it. so you can expect i mean, you can see that it doesn't come out of nowhere. i mean, he does have some governing experience and he is trying to project the idea that it will continue. also, the prime minister, in that statement he made on facebook, said that he would not leave. he would stay in authority over public institutions and that he was looking to be part of a handover, that there should be free elections and people could choose their own government. so these are the kind of messages we're getting, and we will see exactly how that transpires. and when you talk about different regional powers having different interests, again, is it clear at this stage whether all the different factions are able to come together and whether they would all agree on the hts leader being the leader overall? well, that is very unc

[gunfire] >> reporter: this is idlib the de facto capital of hayat tahrir al sham. ghters, syria's new rulers in waiting. in the city center, the revolutionary flag, a symbol of victory. in 2016, when bashar al-assad's regime forced a rebel retreat many of those fighters and their families came here, already one of the country's most conservative corners. most global western powers including the u.s., have designated hayat tahrir al sham as a terrorist organization, but with the group having now ousted assad and in gain control of damascus, the question these leaders now have is, should they recognize the group? hts leader abu mohammad al-jolani has a $20 million u.s. bounty on his head. he is trying to rebrand the group as moderate by cutting ties with al qaeda and promising to protect minorities. but hts rules idlib with an iron fist. u.n. agencies have documented repeated rights abuses here. we met with this group of hts fighters, who insist they will be just. do you want revenge against people who supported assad and his regime? >> [speaking in a global language]

the hts, hayat tahrir al—sham, have sent its forces to many government buildings so that they can avoidterday, of looting and breaking through government buildings and maintain order. and in this square, if you look around, you can see that all civilians are, you know, touring around the city. they feel safe about it. in the distance, we've seen some cafes have opened, and in other areas we've seen where the markets are, where the food shops are, bakeries have opened, food shops have opened. so people are taking baby steps towards going back to normal life. after receiving lots of assurances from the leader of the opposition yesterday, ahmed al—shara, that they are going to provide safety, stability and prosperity for a syria that will include all syrians. but the un has already sounded a warning — they're concerned about the continuing risk of violence. hostilities are reportedly ongoing in some parts of syria, including in the north east. it is really important, imperative, in fact, that all parties abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law and human rights law.

rebels hayat tahrir al—sham who have formed the de facto government of the country have denied carryingbers of the former regime. tens of thousands of the former regime's forces have been crowding at hts centres to surrender. the bbc�*s yogita limaye has been speaking to them to understand why the regime fell so rapidly, and whether they believe in the promise of amnesty. just weeks ago, these men were part of bashar al assad's forces. now they are thronging to so—called reconciliation centres run by the insurgents they were fighting against. it's a picture of the transition that's under way in syria. mohammed ramadan was posted on the outskirts of damascus when it fell to the rebels. he's come to hand in his kalashnikov. in return, he'll get a civilian id and an assurance of amnesty. mohammed explains why assad's military collapsed so quickly. translation: there was no one to give us any orders. many of our commanders fled before us. so i thought, why should ifight and die for someone who didn't even give enough of a salary so i could feed my family? some soldiers told us their daily r