Education institutions reopen in Damascus after al-Assad's overthrow

Students and government employees began returning to their institutions in Damascus on Sunday, signalling a gradual return to normal everyday life in the Syrian capital, a week after the ouster of long-time regime leader Bashar al-Assad.

Last week, antii-regime forces advanced on Damascus and forced al-Assad, who had ruled for more than two decades, to flee the country.

On Wednesday, the country's new rulers lifted a brief curfew on Damascus and urged people to report back to their workplaces.

On Sunday, schools reopened in Damascus and its suburbs, witnesses said.

Moreover, thousands of students turned up at the university in Damascus where dozens of them cleaned up, witnesses added.

Some students voiced excitement about Syria without al-Assad's family that ruled the country for decades.

"We came to our university today to clean it, ushering in a new era in Syria," a student named Ahed Ibrahim told dpa, condemning attacks on government institutions.

"These institutions belong to the Syrian people and not to the overthrown regime. Anyone who vandalized the state institutions, we condemn them because they subverted our property," he added.

"Thousands have sacrificed their lives so that we can see this day," Nessrin al-Zuaby, a female university student, said as she held a Syrian flag symbolizing the 2011 pro-democracy uprising against al-Assad.

"We want Syria to be a democratic and free country," added the student, a native of the southern city of Daraa

The rebels' capture of Damascus on December 8 came after they made major territorial gains against al-Assad's forces in a lightning offensive in the war-torn country.

Following the regime's downfall, work in different institutions in Damascus was halted. Many shops were back in business on Sunday in the city too.

Earlier in the week, the rebels, now in power, named Mohammed al-Bashir as the new prime minister to lead a transitional government.

Al-Bashir was the former head of the government in the opposition stronghold of Idlib in north-western Syria.