In prisons, the streets of Damascus and on social networks, many Syrians on Monday searched for their loved ones, from whom they were separated by decades of fierce repression, the day after the fall of Bashar al-Assad under the influence of a dazzling rebel offensive.
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Taking note of this historic turning point for Syria, which puts an end to half a century of unchallenged rule by the Assad clan, Western chancelleries are increasing calls for a political transition without violence, respecting the rights of all Syrians, of which they depend on their position towards the new masters of Damascus.
The White Helmets rescue group is carrying out intense searches in Saydnaya prison, a symbol of the worst abuses of the fallen power, on the outskirts of the capital.
AFP
Citing the existence of “hidden underground cells”, he said he had deployed “search and rescue units, specialists in breaking down walls, teams responsible for opening iron doors, trained canine units and medical workers.
“Inmates are still underground, the prison has three or four basements,” with access locked by codes, says Aida Taha, 65, who went there in search of her brother, whom she has not been heard from since his arrest in 2012.
The day before, the first detainees were released by the dozens, haggard men, women and children, some too weak to escape the premises of what Amnesty International described as a “human slaughterhouse”.
AFP
In Damascus, on Monday, they poured into the streets in waves, some completely disoriented. On social networks, squares, via local media or on WhatsApp loops, those who can provide their identity, that of a loved one, the name of a street or a city share their information, in the hope to find their loved ones.
Jubilation in Damascus
But in Damascus there is also jubilation, on the Umayyad Square where residents have gathered.
“It’s indescribable, we didn’t think this nightmare was going to end, we are reborn,” enthuses Rim Ramadan, 49, an employee of the Ministry of Finance, against a backdrop of loud gunfire and honking horns.
Syrian refugees are also flocking to border crossings with Lebanon and Turkey.
AFP
The deposed president, who ruled Syria with an iron fist for 24 years, fled on Sunday in the face of the insurgent offensive led by the radical Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) of Abu Mohammad al-Jolani.
The Kremlin refused on Monday to confirm its presence in Moscow, announced by Russian agencies.
The rebel advance rocked the country, opening a period of uncertainty, after 14 years of a civil war triggered by the bloody repression of pro-democracy demonstrations, and which left more than 500,000 dead.
At least 910 people, including 138 civilians, were killed during the rebel advance launched on November 27, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH).
“This victory is a triumph (…) for the entire Muslim community”, “Syria has been purified”, launched Sunday Abu Mohammad al-Jolani in the historic Umayyad mosque in Damascus.
The HTS group is the former Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda which says it has broken with jihadism, without really convincing Western countries, including the United States, which classify it as a terrorist group.
On Monday, only a minority of businesses had reopened in Damascus, where institutions, including schools, are closed. Syria’s Central Bank said on Monday that depositors’ money was “safe.”
Smoke was still coming from the security services buildings, which had been set on fire the day before. The residence of the deposed president and his presidential palace were also ransacked.
“Acts of revenge”
The UN called for “accountability for perpetrators of serious violations,” for the “protection of all minorities” and to “avoid reprisals and acts of revenge.”
At the same time, Germany and Austria suspended decisions on ongoing asylum requests from Syrian exiles, with Vienna announcing it was preparing their “expulsion”.
At the request of Russia, the main ally of the deposed power, the UN Security Council is meeting urgently on Monday behind closed doors on Syria. The Kremlin on Monday deemed it “necessary” to discuss its bases in Syria with future authorities.
For his part, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte accused Moscow and Tehran, another supporter of the deposed power, of “sharing responsibility for the crimes committed against the Syrian people”.
Turkey, which supports rebel groups and hosts millions of Syrian refugees, called for the “formation of an inclusive government”.
In Aleppo, the country’s second city, conquered like other large cities before Damascus by the insurgents, life is resuming under the control of the “salvation government” set up in the rebel stronghold of Idlib (north-west) since 2017 .
“Water and electricity have been restored,” greets Disbina Bidouri, a 61-year-old housewife. “It is now very easy to get bread,” which “young people distribute,” she said.
The head of Israeli diplomacy, Gideon Saar, for his part confirmed that his country had attacked military depots, in particular “chemical weapons”, in Syria in recent days, to prevent their capture by the rebels.
He also described as a “limited and temporary measure” the advance of Israeli troops in Syria the day before in the buffer zone on the edge of the part of the Golan Heights occupied and annexed by Israel.
According to the OSDH, 11 civilians were also killed in a Turkish drone strike in northern Syria, in an area under Kurdish administration, where Syrian Kurdish fighters are trying to repel attacks by armed groups supported by Ankara.