At the historic Umayyad Mosque in the heart of Damascus, a red, white, black and green flag flies. On the other side of the Syrian capital, former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s palace burns. An anchor reads the Sunday news: “We announce to you from the Syrian news channel the victory of the great Syrian revolution after 13 years of patience and sacrifice.” And on the streets, hundreds of people cheer, celebrating the stunning fall of 50 years of the Assad family’s dictatorship. After less than two weeks of fighting across Syria’s northwest, rebel groups swiftly seized control of the capital. Their presence seemed to catch the regime off guard, forcing Assad to flee to Russia with his family. In a speech from the Umayyad Mosque on Sunday, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the leader of Syria’s main rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), called the toppling of Assad a “victory for the…
