New year hope reigns in a Damascus freed from Assad

DAMASCUS (AFP): Umayyad Square in Damascus hummed to the throngs of people brandishing “revolution” flags as Syria saw in the new year with “hope” following 13 years of civil war.

Gunshots rang out from Mount Qasioun overlooking the capital where hundreds of people gazed up at fireworks, an AFP reporter at the square saw.

It was the first new year’s celebration without an Assad in power for more than 50 years after the fall of Bashar Assad in December.

“Long live Syria, Assad has fallen,” shouted some children.

Despite the revelry, soldiers patrolled the streets of Damascus, less than a month after Assad’s rapid demise.

The green, white and black “revolution” flag with its three red stars flies all over the capital.

Such a sight — the symbol of the Syrian people’s uprising against the Assad dynasty’s iron-fisted rule — was unthinkable a month ago.

The revolutionary song “Lift your head, you are a free Syrian” by Syrian singer Assala Nasri rang out loud on Umayyad Square.

“Every year, we aged suddenly by 10 years,” taxi driver Qassem Al-Qassem, 34, told AFP in reference to the tough living conditions in a country whose economy collapsed under Assad.

“But with the fall of regime, all our fears have dissipated,” he added.

“Now I have a lot of hope. But all we want now is peace.”

More than half a million people died in the 13-year civil war as the country split into different regions controlled by various warring parties.

Many families are still waiting for news of loved ones who disappeared under Assad’s rule, during which time tens of thousands of prisoners disappeared.

“I hope that Syria in 2025 will be non-denominational, pluralist, for everyone, without exception,” said Havan Mohammad, a Kurdish student from the northeast studying pharmacy in the capital.