Helsinki | Newly liberated Syria was facing an uphill battle to stabilise a precarious political situation on Monday (Tuesday AEDT), as the government insisted it was functional and the country’s neighbours seized territory or launched bombing raids.

The United Nations’ top official in Syria, Adam Abdelmoula, said the country’s bureaucracy had come “to a complete and abrupt halt” after the rebel army’s rapid surprise ousting of decades-long dictatorial president Bashar al-Assad.