Nearly three months after Bashar al-Assad fled, much of Syria is suspended between relief at the dictatorship’s demise and anxiety over what comes next.

The long-awaited conference was billed as a "rare historical opportunity" to rebuild the country after 14 years of civil war.

Hundreds of Syrians will gather in Damascus on Tuesday for a one-day national dialogue conference, billed by the country's Islamist rulers as a key milestone in the transition to a new political system after decades of Assad rule.