The challenges facing Ahmed al-Sharaa’s new government are numerous, complex and daunting. But the west must not attempt to dictate events

One struggle ends, another begins. Revolution begets counter-revolution. Hopes soar, disappointment and disillusion follow. Is this what the future holds for Syria? In the immediate aftermath of last weekend’s sudden toppling of Bashar al-Assad’s despicable regime, euphoria reigns. After 13 years of civil war, and more than 50 years of oppressive dictatorship, the scent of freedom is intoxicating. The people of Syria celebrated their liberation on the streets in vast numbers. Statues of Assad and his father, Hafez, lifeless monuments to fear, were pulled down and smashed. Who would deny them these moments of vital joy? Theirs is a victory for all who love freedom.

Elation conceals deep anxiety. The challenges facing the country are numerous, complex and daunting. For many citizens, the overriding priority is to discover what happened to missing relatives and friends jailed or “forcibly disappeared”. Large crowds gathered outside Damascus’s notorious Sednaya prison and other “slaughterhouses”, desperately seeking news of loved ones, living and dead. Perhaps half a million people were killed in the war. The Syrian Network for Human Rights believes that 100,000 may have died under torture. One was Mazen al-Hamada who famously, publicly, defied the regime. His broken body was found in Sednaya.