Syrians are celebrating the end of the Assad family's 50-year rule, after rebels overthrew the government. Ousted President Bashar al-Assad and his family have been granted asylum in Russia, as negotiations for a peaceful transition of power get underway.
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00:00The Syrian people are one! One, one, one!
00:03Celebrations in Damascus as news broke that Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad
00:08had been overthrown by rebel fighters after a civil war that has lasted 13 years.
00:14The regime's demise ending five decades of his family's brutal dictatorship.
00:19Rebel forces announcing their victory over state television.
00:23The end of this dark era and the beginning of a new era for Syria.
00:29Assad was in power for 24 years, taking over his father's tyrannical rule upon the older man's death.
00:36As their statues were toppled from pedestals across Syria,
00:39the ousted president and his family fled to Moscow.
00:42Russia along with Iran had long backed the Assad regime,
00:46providing technical and military support as he fought various rebel groups since 2011.
00:51But with both allies preoccupied with their own conflicts,
00:54Syrian rebel groups worked together in a lightning offensive.
00:58Beginning their campaign in the northwest, swimming through Aleppo, Homer, Daraa and Homs in just 11 days,
01:05before seizing the capital Damascus virtually unchallenged.
01:13With Assad gone, civilians and fighters raided the presidential palace
01:18and prisoners long held by the regime were freed.
01:28This is God's help.
01:30Thank God, we saw with our own eyes how the 13 years of suffering
01:36were healed by this great victory.
01:39Many Western leaders welcomed the fall of the regime,
01:42aware that there is still much uncertainty ahead,
01:45including the country's relations with Russia and Iran.
01:48As we all turn to the question of what comes next,
01:52the United States will work with our partners and the stakeholders in Syria
01:57to help them seize an opportunity to manage the risk.
02:01An Assad appointee, Syria's Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali,
02:05issued a video statement as the rebels took over,
02:08saying he's ready to help form a transitional government.
02:11He was last seen in the company of rebel fighters,
02:14reportedly to discuss a peaceful transfer of power.
02:17This is a positive sort of sign because there is that sort of contact and coordination.
02:25But I think it's not going to likely play a big role in terms of what comes next
02:32because you have, A, different armed groups and different sort of areas of control.
02:40The division between those groups raising fierce negotiations
02:44could become complicated and drawn out.
02:46And it's not just those in the country counting on a swift transition.
02:51Across the border in Lebanon,
02:52jubilation among millions of Syrian refugees displaced by civil war.
02:57Longing to return home, daring to dream a better future for their country
03:01is now finally within reach.
03:04James Lynn and Rosie Greninger for Taiwan Plus.