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.

Western and Arab states, as well as Israel, would like to see Iran’s influence in Syria curtailed, but none wish for a radical Islamist regime to replace Assad.

The fall of Assad revealed a shocking reality about tens of thousands of detainees when rebel forces stormed his regime-run jails in Damascus and other Syrian regions and freed them. Anxious and desperate relatives were seen rushing to the most notorious Sednaya prison on the outskirts of Damascus,