For much of the past decade, Assad’s regime, bolstered by unwavering support from Iran and Russia, brutally suppressed dissent. What began as an uprising in 2011 evolved into a devastating civil war that eventually settled into an uneasy stalemate.

Now, after the collapse of the Assad regime, people have begun returning home, including BBC Arabic's Feras Killani, who grew up there with his family, before they left in 2013.

Turkey's foreign minister said after meeting Syria's de facto leader in Damascus on Sunday that there was no room for Kurdish militants in Syria's future, calling for the YPG militia to disband. Turke

Following the fall of Assad's regime, tensions across the Middle East have continued to remain high prompting concerns from countries in the area.

Will he walk the walk and not just talk the talk? And if he doesn’t win in the elections, will he peacefully stand aside for whoever does win?” one analyst said.

As those in the lucrative Captagon network move aside, how will the new leaders stop any criminals waiting in the wings to replace them?

The toppling of Bashar Assad has raised tentative hopes that Syrians might live peacefully and as equals after a half century of authoritarian rule.

The high-level delegation arrived to engage in talks with Syria's interim leadership, the State Department confirmed early Friday.

Behind the coils of razor wire and concrete walls, glimpses of the horror emerge from the warren of dank, airless corridors of what has been dubbed “The Slaughterhouse.”

The Syrian regime’s collapse came more quickly than the rebels had dreamed — the circumstances were both serendipitous and part of a larger global realignment.