'You can breathe in Syria after Assad'

December 09, 2024 09:15

Syrians celebrate. Pic: Andreea Campeanu/Reuters

There was a snarl of cars when we arrived. We could hear chanting. Someone was waving a rebel flag. Overnight news that Damascus had fallen and Syria's president had fled spurred Syrians in Lebanon to rush to Masnaa, the border crossing closest to their capital, reports the BBC.

We'd been planning to spend a day reporting from there, but packed a small overnight bag when we heard the Syrians had abandoned their side. Maybe we would be able to get to Damascus ourselves.

Amid the excitement around us was a tall man with curly hair who was trying to go the other way. I could see he was crying.

He told me his name was Hussein and that he was a supporter of President Bashar al-Assad. He was afraid.

"We don't know anything about what is going to happen inside. They might kill us, it's chaos," he said.

"Anybody who used to work with the regime or the army, they say they are going to give them a safe exit, but nobody knows. If it's not going to be true, they're going to pay the consequences."

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