Syria Crisis Latest Update: Days after the ouster of President Bashar Al-Assad from Syria, the Syrian rebels on Tuesday named Mohammed Al-Bashir head of the transitional government, local media reported. In an address to the nation, Al-Bashir announced that he will remain in the position until 1 March to lead the transition government.
The reports said that the new prime minister will lead the interim government to manage the transition and prevent the country from descending into chaos.
As the rebels swept across Syria in just 10 days to bring an end to the Assad family's 50-year rule, they broke into prisons and security facilities to free political prisoners and many of the tens of thousands of people who disappeared since the conflict began back in 2011.
Barhoum was one of those freed who were celebrating in Damascus. “I haven't seen the sun until today,” Barhoum told The Associated Press after walking in disbelief through the streets of Damascus.
“Instead of being dead tomorrow, thank God, he gave me a new lease of life.” Barhoum couldn't find his cellphone and belongings in the prison so set off to find a way to tell his wife and daughters that he's alive and well.
Videos shared widely across social media showed dozens of prisoners running in celebration after the insurgents released them, some barefoot and others wearing little clothing. One of them screams in celebration after he finds out that the government has fallen.
Syria's prisons have been infamous for their harsh conditions. Torture is systematic, say human rights groups, whistleblowers, and former detainees.
Secret executions have been reported at more than two dozen facilities run by Syrian intelligence, as well as at other sites.
In 2013, a Syrian military defector, known as “Caesar”, smuggled out over 53,000 photographs that human rights groups say showed clear evidence of rampant torture, but also disease and starvation in Syria's prison facilities.
Syria's feared security apparatus and prisons did not only serve to isolate Assad's opponents, but also to instill fear among his own people said Lina Khatib, Associate Fellow in the Middle East and North Africa program at the London think tank Chatham House.
"Anxiety about being thrown in one of Assad's notorious prisons created wide mistrust among Syrians,” Khatib said.
Amnesty International and other groups say that dozens of people were secretly executed every week in Saydnaya, estimating that up to 13,000 Syrians were killed between 2011 and 2016.
