Jawlani has moved to form a transitional government, get the buses running and turn the power back on.

Rapturous celebrations in the streets of the capital were tempered by trepidation over whether the city’s new rebel caretakers could deliver a better future.

For many Damascenes, the dominant feelings are a mix of joy and trepidation. “We’re happy, of course, but we’re afraid of what’s coming,” said Muna Maidani, a 28-year-old who was walking near Umayyad Square — one of the Syrian capital’s most famous landmarks — with her two children.