Now, all eyes are on the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group—a former Al-Qaeda affiliate—and its leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, as questions arise as to his willingness and capacity to come through on promises to eschew extremism and oversee a more prosperous and inclusive future for Syria.

Assad, an ophthalmologist who graduated from Damascus University (Syria) and specialised at the Western Eye Hospital in London (UK), had a sudden career shift to politics and became Syria's President in 2000 following the death of his father,

The U.N. organization assisting in investigating the most serious crimes in Syria said Monday the country’s new authorities were “very receptive” to its request for cooperation during a just-concluded visit to Damascus,