Comments by Secretary of State Antony Blinken this weekend were the first time a U.S. official has acknowledged contact with the Syrian rebel group that drove Bashar al-Assad from power.

Morning Edition host Leila Fadel reports from Damascus, in the first week in a half-century that the Assad family did not rule the country.

Assad's fall came too late for the father of NPR's Diaa Hadid, who was briefly detained by Syrian forces during their occupation of northern Lebanon.

Travis Timmerman, a U.S. citizen found wandering barefoot in Damascus after being freed from a Syrian prison following the fall of the Assad regime, was handed over to U.S. forces in Syria on Friday.

In Damascus, people stood shoulder to shoulder at one of Syria's holiest sites, the Umayyad Mosque, in the first Friday prayers since Bashar al-Assad was overthrown less than a week ago.

With a ceasefire in place, Hezbollah wants to rebuild Lebanon. But its supply chains across Syria have been weakened by Israeli airstrikes, rebel fighting and the ouster of its ally Bashar al-Assad.

FIFA's selection of Saudi Arabia to host the World Cup was celebrated in the kingdom but criticized by human rights groups, who fear residents, visitors and migrant workers will be at risk of abuse.

The 29-year-old said he was detained earlier this year after crossing into Syria on foot from Lebanon and held in prison until the fall of Assad. Timmerman's family called it a "Christmas miracle."

Germany hosts almost a million Syrians who fled war and dictatorship. The toppling of the Assad regime has raised questions for exiles about their next step.

Rehab Alkadi and her husband, Feras, fled Syria's war with their young son in 2013. They and other Syrian refugees in the U.S. are now hopeful for their country's future, even as uncertainty remains.

The sudden collapse of President Bashar al-Assad has come as welcome news to many, but there are jitters both inside and outside the country about what will follow.

Austin Tice went missing during a reporting trip in Syria in 2012. His release is a top priority for the U.S. government following a rebel group's ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

While Syrian refugees in Lebanon return home, many Lebanese remain on edge. Years of conflict have left the Syria-Lebanon borderlands scarred, and fears grow that instability could spill over again.

The swift downfall of Bashar al-Assad is reverberating throughout the Middle East. Countries are urgently reassessing how to deal with a nation seeking to rebuild itself after years of civil war.

The private residence of deposed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad was ransacked after rebels took over the capital, forcing him to flee the country.