"Damascus Has Been Liberated"; Syrians Gather At Lebanon Border To Return Home (image @HussamHamoud)
Damascus, Syria: While the opposition faction announced that Bashar al-Assad government has fallen and declared that “the city of Damascus has been liberated”, Syrians gather at Lebanon-Syria border seeking to return home. Within10 days, things turn upside down for al-Assad as the rebels pushed out of their stronghold in northwestern Idlib made rapid advances, taking Aleppo, Hama and Homs, and are now in capital city Damascus, the seat of power of the President.
While people are deeply shocked, they are also euphoric. Hundreds and thousands of Syrians who fled the country in fear of prosecution or in search of a better life – because even though the Assad government claimed victory few years back, it was not able to improve the living conditions of Syrians – are eager to return home. They were preventing from returning so far, said media report.
The opposition faction HTS’s (Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham) chief Abu Muhammed al-Julani said the public will be protected. In a statement released, he said, “Protect and guard the public institutions and property. They are owned by the Syrian people, and you are their protectors”. He urged the rebels to stay away from taking over the public institutions and will “remain under the supervision of the former prime minister until it is handed over officially”.
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Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali says he remains at his home in Damascus and is committed to ensuring that public institutions continue functioning.
The opposition faction said it is committed to “social unity”. The Administration of Political Affairs, an arm of the Syrian opposition, reiterates its pledge to work for all Syrians. “The liberation of Syria is a victory for all of its children who have sacrificed for the unity of its land and people…In this occasion, we assert our commitment to strengthening social unity and confirming the principles of justice and dignity for all the components of Syrian society”, read the group’s statement.
If al-Assad fall, it will be an end of more than 50-years of Assad regime. Bashar al-Asad inherited power from his military strongman father Hafez al-Assad, who ruled Syria from 1971 until his death in June 2000. Bashar, who was former medical student, became the leader of the Ba’ath Party and commander in chief of the military.
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When the Syrians took to streets demanding democratic rule in 2011, Bashar responded with a heavy crackdown. When the protest tightened, he doubled down, eventually leading to civil war. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians were killed and al-Assad was accused of using of chemical weapons in the years that followed.
