JORDAN WILL WELCOME diplomats from the US, EU, Turkey and Arab nations today to discuss the developing situation in Syria, a day after celebrations in Damascus and nationwide marked the end of the Assad regime.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to be among the envoys in the Jordanian city of Aqaba.

Syrians celebrated across the country yesterday for a day they called the “Friday of victory”, with fireworks heralding the fall of the Assad dynasty.

More than half a century of brutal rule by the Assad family came to a sudden end on Sunday, after a lightning rebel offensive swept across the country and took the capital. 14 years of war in Syria claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, and displaced millions.

Turkey has announced that it will reopen its embassy in Damascus, which had been closed since 2012 amid calls by Ankara for Assad to step down.

A Qatari diplomat said a delegation from the Gulf emirate would visit Syria on Sunday to meet transitional government officials and discuss aid and the reopening of their embassy.

Qatar, Unlike other Arab states, never restored diplomatic ties with Assad after a rupture in 2011.

In a statement on Thursday, the G7 leaders said they were committed to “work with and fully support” a future Syrian government that agreed to ensure “respect for the rule of law, universal human rights, including women’s rights, the protection of all Syrians, including religious and ethnic minorities, transparency and accountability”.

Meanwhile, Israeli troops have pushed into Syria and bombed targets across the country, with the government in Tel Aviv saying it is attempting to secure its border after the collapse of the Assad regime and prevent weapons falling into the wrong hands.