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It has been a remarkable seven days in Syria. The speed of the downfall of Bashar al-Assad's murderous regime took the world by surprise.
Fourteen years ago Syrians saw what was happening in Egypt and Tunisia- the Arab Spring- and wanted to get rid of the dictator who ruled them with an iron fist. Instead Assad clamped down even harder and a civil war followed.
During those years his regime bombed its own people, murdered them, raped them, tortured them, used chemical weapons on them. Millions fled- nearly 14 million, according to the UN.
Since November 27, a rebel group- Hayat Tahrir al-Sham or HTS- began its advance across Syria, and Assad's army collapsed in its wake. Last Sunday it and other rebel group entered Damascus and declared Syria to be free.
Prisoners - some of whom had been detained for over 40 years- began leaving jails- one in particular described by Amnesty International as a human slaughterhouse. Families waited days for loved ones to appear. Many didn't.
So what happens next in Syria and what can its new leaders learn from other countries like Iraq and Libya where international involvement led to the removal of their dictators? What do current events mean for the wider Middle East?
Presenter Audrey Carville in conversation with Robert McNamara, lecturer in international history at Ulster University, Jane Kinninmont director of policy and impact at the European Leadership Network which focuses on European security, Dina Gusejnova is a historian of transitional periods who works at the London School of Economics and journalist and academic Farian Sabahi.