Eight days after the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, life is returning to normal. On Sunday, schools reopened across the country. But in the coastal region, known for being pro-regime, it is the opposite, the cities are emptying. Many loyalists have left in recent days, fearing reprisals. Others stayed, but are just as worried.
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With our correspondent in Qardaha, Manon Chapelain
Sitting along a broken road, a group of friends replays the scene of December 8 over and over again. Men by the dozen came here, to Qardaha, the family’s village of origin Assad with the aim of hunting down loyalists.
Yet, “ here, we are not all pro-diet », Regrets Ahmed. “ As soon as the regime fell, there was chaos here. There are many people who have hatred against our village, an old hatred. But most of the people here didn’t do anything! These people started stealing from us, we didn’t know if they were from the HTS group or not. »
In turn, the inhabitants tell their story: many in this village had access to privileged positions within the regime’s administrations. Here, an employee of the Ministry of Finance, a former soldier, and even a private security guard for the Assad family in Damascus. Subhi assures him, he never supported them: “ I have never killed anyone, never used weapons against anyone in Syria. I remain confident, nothing will happen to me. Only Allah scares me! »
Looted houses, rammed cars
In Qardaha, pro-regime cars were rammed and houses looted. Nothing remains, neither the cupboard doors, nor the sinks, nor even the branches of the trees in the gardens. Hassan came to cut those in the park reserved for the Assad family: “ I cut this wood to make a fire for my children, because I have nothing to heat them. There is no fuel or anything else in Qardaha. Life is very hard here. And look at this park! »
According to the UN, since the fall of the regime, nearly 155,000 people have been forced to flee for a second time.
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