Under Mr Assad Syria sank from middle-income status to abject poverty. Women saw branches off trees for heating. Children scavenge in dumpsters for food. Men pull copper wire from buildings and telecoms cables to sell. The government is broke and banks are running out of cash. “The economy is tanking,” says one of Mr Sharaa’s advisers.

the alliance of armed factions that toppled Al-Assad, instructed his forces not to harm army soldiers who put down their weapons and not to pursue those who flee.

Nearly three months after Assad fled, much of Syria is suspended between relief at the dictatorship’s demise and anxiety over what comes next.