Hello and welcome to News Hour from the BBC World Service.

We're coming to you live from London. I'm James Menendez.

And our top story today takes us once again to Syria,

the collapse of the Assad family regime after more than 50 years

and the transition to a new government, whatever form that might take.

As well as celebrations, there is also understandably anger towards the former president

and his security apparatus which meted out so much cruelty to Syrians over the decades.

And to Bashar al-Assad's father, who ruled with just as much ruthlessness and created the

secret police in their network of prisons that tortured and killed the regime's opponents.

Well, today, rebel fighters broke into Hafez al-Assad's tomb in the family's hometown in the

coastal province of Latakia. Images show a coffin and parts of the grand mausoleum on fire.

This man described what he'd seen.

We're at the tomb of Hafez al-Assad.

We came and saw it burnt and destroyed by the people of his village

because he starved them, because they hated him, and because he

destroyed us. He displaced them and displaced us. Our chief international correspondent,

Lee Doucette, is in Damascus, so fury towards the Asads. But what about their henchmen?

Are there signs of people now wanting to take revenge?

Yes, extraordinary scenes. You've just been talking about, James, in Cardaha, at the coastal,

the family ancestral stronghold. I was in Cardaha several years ago and actually got permission

to visit that mausoleum. It took a lot of

persuasion. And in fact, the government minder hovered very carefully as we went through this

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