Al-Bashir ran the rebel-led Salvation Government before a 12-day lightning rebel offensive swept into the country’s capital, Damascus.

On Monday, dictator Bashar al-Assad's prime minister, Mohammed Jalali, agreed to hand power to the Salvation Government, an administration based in rebel-held territory in northwest Syria.

The imminent transfer of power follows 13 years of civil war and the end of more than 50 years of brutal rule by the Assad family, leaving Syrians at home and millions of refugees abroad hopeful yet deeply uncertain about their country's future.