Sharaa's Islamist group is stamping its authority on Syria's state with the same lightning speed that it seized the country, deploying police, installing an interim government and meeting foreign envoys - raising concerns over how inclusive Damascus' new rulers intend to be.

Syrian rebel fighters have destroyed the tomb of late president Hafez al-Assad, father of ousted president Bashar, in the family's hometown. Videos verified by the BBC showed armed men chanting as they walked around the burning mausoleum in Qardaha, in the north-west of the coastal Latakia region.

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. “We are now the happiest country in the world,” one man told CNN on the road leading to Damascus on Sunday.