A long road ahead to decide Syria’s future after rapid end to Assad’s rule

BEIRUT (AP) — For the first time in 50 years, the question of how Syria will be governed is wide open. The end of the Assad family's rule is for many Syrians a moment of mixed joy and fear, of the total unknown.

The insurgency that swept President Bashar Assad out of power is rooted in Islamist jihadi fighters. Its leader says he has renounced past ties to al-Qaida, and he has gone out of his way to assert a vision of creating a pluralistic Syria governed by civil institutions — not dictators and not ideology.

But even if he is sincere, he is not the only player. The insurgency is made up of multiple factions, and the country is riven among armed groups, including U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters controlling the east. Remnants of the old regime’s military — and its feared security and intelligence services — could coalesce once again.

Foreign powers with their own interests have their hands deep in the country, and any of them — Russia, Iran, Turkey, the United States and Israel — could act as spoilers.