Damascus Returns to Normalcy After Militant Force Forces Assad to Flee

• Damascus returns to normalcy after militants seize the capital and President Bashar al-Assad flees to Russia.

• Heavy traffic returns and people venture out after a nighttime curfew, but most shops remain closed.

• Main militant commander, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, met with Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Jalali and Vice-President Faisal Mekdad to discuss transitional government arrangements.

• The transitional authority will be headed by Mohammed Al-Bashir, who previously ran the administration in rebel-held territory.

• Syria’s banks will reopen on Tuesday, and staff have been asked to return to offices.

• Syria’s currency will continue to be used.

• Militants from the remote countryside gather in the capital, with Firdous Omar looking forward to returning to his job as a farmer.