Thousands take to the streets around Syria to celebrate end of Assad regime: ‘It’s like a dream’
Converging on Syria’s most iconic mosque and spilling into the capital’s best-known square, thousands of Syrians gathered on Friday to mark the start of “a new era” following the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad.
Chanting, “Hold your head up high, you’re a free Syrian,” crowds flocked to the Umayyad Mosque, one of the largest and oldest in the world, for the first Muslim prayers since the spectacular collapse of the ruling regime.
Thousands more gathered in cities across the country.
The celebrations were a deeply symbolic way to mark the dramatic change of power in Syria, nearly a week after insurgents swept into Damascus – ousting the Assad family who had kept an iron grip on the country for five decades.
In the capital. the country’s interim prime minister, Mohammed al-Bashir, delivers the Friday sermon to flag-waving crowds, with a message of unity.
“This is a call for all the loyal people of Syria. We have to put our hands in each other’s hands; we have to collaborate and come together to build Syria,” he says, his voice cracking.
“To return this majestic country to its majestic position among the nations,” he adds.
Under Assad, sermons were tightly controlled and monitored, a fact not lost on the crowd. The symbolism was further amplified by the fact that in the early days of the revolution that precipitated the civil war, protesters would often gather at Umayyad Square. Now, fighters and civilians gathered to listen, many stepping inside the sweeping mosque for the first time ever.
Raghab, 22, a student, says it is the first time her family had prayed in the mosque because of the oversight of the regime.
“I don’t remember a world without war. I grew up in this revolution and civil conflict,” she adds. “Now I have a future. I want to be an architect so I can rebuild this country.”
Many had gathered hoping to catch a glimpse of the rebel commander Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohamed al-Golani, who heads up the largest insurgent force, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). He instead appears in a video congratulating the “great Syrian people for the victory of the blessed revolution”.
“I invite them to head to the squares to show their happiness without shooting bullets and scaring people,” he says. “And then, after, we will work to build this country, and as I said in the beginning, we will be victorious by the help of God.”
HTS, which was once aligned with al-Qaeda but has spent years distancing itself from its jihadi roots, has been working to establish security and start a political transition after leading the charge on the capital early on Sunday. They have also been trying to reassure a fractured society, shocked by Assad’s fall and concerned over extremists among the rebel ranks.
Their fighters are now on the streets, sometimes directing traffic and manning all the security and military buildings – now ransacked and strewn with defaced images of the ousted autocrat.
