Monday, December 09, 2024 - Syrians flooded the main square of Damascus on Monday, December 9, celebrating what many see as a historic turning point following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad.
Assad fled to Russia on Sunday, December 8, after a swift
offensive led by Islamist rebels toppled his regime, marking the end of his
family’s five-decade grip on Syria’s leadership.
At Umayyad Square, jubilant residents gathered alongside
rebel fighters, who had imposed a nighttime curfew across the capital. People
waved flags, honked car horns, and cheered while some rebels fired celebratory
shots into the air.
“It’s indescribable, we never thought this nightmare would
end. We are reborn,” said Rim Ramadan, a 49-year-old civil servant at the
finance ministry. “We were afraid for 55 years of speaking, even at home. We
used to say the walls had ears. We feel like we’re living a dream.”
Elsewhere in the city, some neighborhoods remained eerily
quiet, with residents cautious amid the sudden power shift.
The fall of Assad’s regime comes after a 14-year civil war
that began with a violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests. The conflict
claimed over 500,000 lives and displaced millions, with many fleeing Syria
entirely.
Assad inherited an authoritarian system from his father,
Hafez al-Assad, characterized by harsh suppression of dissent. Despite years of
protests and rebellion, Assad had managed to hold onto power, largely through
support from Russia and Iran.
On November 27, a coalition of rebel forces led by the
Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham launched a sweeping offensive, capturing
city after city, including Aleppo, Hama, Daraa, and Homs, before finally
entering Damascus. The rapid collapse of the Syrian army and security forces
signaled the end of Baath Party rule, which had dominated Syria for decades.
In the central city of Homs and other regions, similar
scenes of celebration unfolded, with people flashing victory signs and
expressing relief after years of fear and repression. Syrians living abroad
also joined in celebrations, as seen in northern Lebanon and Istanbul, where
people gathered to commemorate the end of Assad's rule.
For many Syrians, the moment represents not just the fall of
a regime but the beginning of a long-awaited chapter of hope and rebuilding.
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