His office denied all such reports, saying he was still working in Damascus but there was no sign of him.
Syria remains a divided country with deep, unhealed scars from years of civil war, despite the apparent stalemate and status quo that existed for about four years until just a week and a half ago.
Assad’s pariah status has ended among his fellow Arab leaders, but Syria has made no progress in building a viable future for its people after the war.
But President Assad’s presence seemed a seal, albeit an unsatisfactory one, of a deadly conflict that had raged for years.
If he is gone now, there will be a power vacuum again, with no clear indication of how it will be filled. There is no united opposition that could take power. Rebel groups have a history of division and infighting.
The group that led the new uprising against President Assad based on al-Qaeda extremism. Its leader has tried to reassure other communities in Syria that he will not impose his ideology on them, but they remain fearful of what could happen.
There will be wider fears that Syria could descend into an even more catastrophic state as different factions fight each other for control. In an already desperately volatile and volatile region, it could spark more dangerous unrest.
But for now, at least, many Syrians both inside and outside the district are united by a hope that many felt they may never experience again – that they will be able to return to their homes, long lost in the brutal war that Assad’s violent repression of protest and dissent initially triggers.
