DAMASCUS: In Damascus, gunfire rang out and religious invocations were launched through mosque loudspeakers. The Syrian capital, still stunned by the announcement of the “flight” of President Bashar al-Assad, woke up before dawn on Sunday under rebel control.
According to witnesses contacted by AFP, a few dozen people gathered in Umayyad Square, in the center of Damascus, to celebrate the fall of the Assad clan in power for more than half a century, in a country fragmented by a deadly civil war since 2011.
“We have been waiting for this day for a long time,” said Amer Batha, reached by telephone by AFP from Umayyad Square, in a country ruled with an iron fist by a power which repressed all dissent and stifled public freedoms.
“I can’t believe I’m living this moment,” says this Syrian who bursts into tears. “This is a new story that is beginning for Syria. »
In another public square in central Damascus, dozens of residents trampled a statue of Hafez al-Assad, Bashar's father, amid shouts of “Allah Akbar” (“God is greatest”). stolen to express their joy. According to images from AFPTV, they had previously caused the statue to fall and break.
“Syria is ours, it does not belong to the Assad family,” chanted armed men from rebel groups circulating in some streets of Damascus and firing into the air in joy.
The regime's soldiers hastily got rid of the military uniforms of the Syrian army as they left the headquarters of the general staff on Umayyad Square, residents told AFP.
Illustrating the disarray that accompanied the rebels' dazzling offensive in the capital, the premises of public television and radio were abandoned by civil servants, according to a former employee.
“It’s all over. »
A few kilometers away, in picturesque old Damascus where many Christian families live, young Syrians chanted in the narrow alleys “The Syrian people are united”, a message intended to be reassuring to the minorities of a multi-faith country. , torn apart by 13 years of a murderous and devastating civil war.
In another neighborhood, in Chaghour, women shouted with joy from their balconies, while others threw rice as armed fighters passed by.
“I can't believe that from today, I will no longer be afraid,” Ilham Basatina, a fervent fifty-year-old perched on his balcony in Chaghour, told AFP.
“Our joy is immense today, but it will only be complete when the criminal is judged,” she said, referring to Bashar al-Assad. The rebels who entered Damascus announced that the “tyrant” had fled.
Before daybreak, the capital was shaken by five strong explosions of unknown origin, probably artillery fire or explosions in ammunition warehouses, according to a soldier on the run who requested anonymity.
“Our direct superior informed us that we had to withdraw and go home,” he told AFP: “We understood that everything was over. »
– “Culture of fear” –
On social networks, journalists, civil servants and parliamentarians quickly changed their profile photos, displaying the opposition flag.
“It is not the fault of Syrian journalists and media,” explained Waddad Abd Rabbo, editor-in-chief of the pro-government daily Al-Watan.
“We were only executors of orders, disseminators of information that they sent us,” he added, referring to the authorities.
On Facebook, Syrian actor Ayman Zidan admitted that he had let himself be “caught in the trap of illusion”. “Perhaps we were trapped in a culture of fear. Or were we afraid of change, because we feared chaos and bloodshed,” he adds.
“But here we are at the gates of a new era, with men who impressed us with their nobility, their culture of forgiveness and their desire to restore the unity of the Syrian people,” he said again in reference to the rebels.
These rebels who, in the streets of Damascus, in military fatigues, knelt to kiss the ground, overcome by emotion or in prayer. Others took photos of themselves, while the heavy gunfire rang out continuously.
