Syria's new PM urges refugees to come back and 'rebuild' the country - as many insist they still intend to head for Britain or stay in Europe despite the fall of Assad

Syria's new transitional prime minister has called for Syrians abroad to return to their homeland and help rebuild it, as Britain and other European countries have rushed to freeze all pending asylum requests from Syrians. Thousands of Syrians in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep celebrate at the news of the fall of the Syrian government in Damascus, on December 8 Syrians waving flags gather at Umayyad Square to celebrate the collapse of the 61-year Baath regime, in Damascus, Syria on December 11 Migrants of unknown origin crowd a smuggler's inflatable dingy in an attempt to cross the English Channel from Saint-Etienne-au-Mont, northern France, on October 30 People stand on a destroyed military tank on the outskirts of Hama on December 11 'It's very bad news, but it won't stop us,' he insisted. Syria's new transitional prime minister Mohammad al-Bashir chairing a meeting of the new cabinet in Damascus on December 10 A fighter offers food to a woman as he sits outside Ummayad mosque at the old city of Damascus on December 11 A Syrian man walks with his belongings after arriving from Turkey through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, north of Idlib, Syria, December 11 Al Jolani has consistently distanced himself from his affiliation from al-Qaeda, reinventing himself as a statesman. Syrians wait to cross into Syria from Turkey at the Oncupinar border gate, near the town of Kilis, southern Turkey, Thursday, Dec. 12 Footage released by the Israeli Army says to show Israeli soldiers operating in a location given as Golan Heights, in this handout picture released on December 11 A view of 'White Building' also called as the execution block of Sednaya Prison, infamous for torture under the toppled Bashar al-Assad regime in Damascus, Syria on December 10 Israel said Tuesday it has conducted about 480 strikes in 48 hours on military targets in Syria, launching a military incursion into the buffer zone that has separated the two countries since 1974. Top rebel commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani speaks to a crowd at Ummayad Mosque in Damascus, after Syrian rebels announced that they have ousted President Bashar al-Assad, Syria December 8, 2024 People celebrate at Umayyad Square in Damascus on December 8, 2024, as rebel soldiers declare that they have taken the capital Syrians living in Berlin gather in Oranienplatz Square, Kreuzberg, to celebrate the overthrow of the 61-year Baath Party rule in Syria Similar sentiments were expressed by far-left leaders and politicians in equal measure.