Some Syrians are hopeful that loved ones detained under Bashar al-Assad’s regime may still be alive.

Those who expressed any form of dissent were disappeared, with tens of thousands being tortured or killed in the country’s notorious jails.

Crowds have gathered at the capital’s notorious Saydnaya prison, in the hope of finding any trace of their loved ones.

Assad’s government collapsed following a major rebel offensive led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).