The New Syria and Reactions to Assad's Fall: A Sample of Local Reactions

With the fall of the Assad regime overnight and a transition process now underway, it feels good to be able to write more freely and freely use the term regime without having to worry about exposing contacts in regime-held territories to risk of arrest and reprisal, particularly given that one of my friends was being held in Saydnaya Prison and fortunately remained alive to get out among the freed prisoners. As the regime reclaimed more territory and seemed to have cemented its position, I felt as though I had to exercise more caution in conducting interviews and research: self-censorship in many ways. No more.

It has been remarkable to observe, in real time, the reactions of many Syrians I have come to know over the course of the civil war that has now been realised as a revolution. Obviously, those who expressed opposition to the regime prior to its fall were joyful, but intriguing also were the reactions of those who had fought on the side of the regime during the war, including those who worked with the Iranians and/or Hezbollah and fought on Assad’s side up to the very end.

It has indeed been remarkable to observe how the outward expressions of loyalty to Assad and the broader ‘axis of resistance’ have just melted away. People who only a week or two ago might have been posting pictures of Assad and the flag associated with his regime now post the flag of ‘Free Syria’ that was so often derided by ostensible loyalists and congratulate the Syrian people on a new era of freedom. Probably, some of this shifting reflects a ‘survival instinct’ and ‘going with the flow’ in that there is a realisation that this regime will not be coming back and expression of support for it and the ‘axis of resistance’ that was so closely tied to it is ill-advised, to say the least. In this regard, I am reminded somewhat of how some people in southern Syria who, when the regime came back, began putting up pictures of the flag of Assad’s Syria on their Facebook profiles. Still, I am also sure that with the dissipation of the regime itself, particularly given how swift it was, the shackles have also come off for many who were professing loyalty to the end, and it has now dawned on them how rotten the regime and the ‘axis of resistance’ were and what calamities they brought upon Syria.

Omar al-Hassan, an independent member of the Syrian parliament under Assad’s regime who was backed by the Iranian-supported Baqir Brigade, writes: “Congratulations to the Syrian people on freedom.”


Below is a short post put up by one contact I knew who was previously involved in ‘Saraya al-Areen’ (‘Squadrons of the Den’), an Alawite militia that was tied to the Syrian regime’s military intelligence and also the Iranian-backed ‘Local Defence Forces’ network. He then joined up with the Syrian army and fought in the battles against the last insurgent offensive, being wounded. He expresses sorrow for having sided with the regime for 14 years and calls for the building of a new Syria united in all its sects and religions. While there are good reasons to be concerned for the future, it is nice to see such sentiments, and one should hope for reconciliation.

"Do not blame us and do not resent us. We were deceived for 14 years. Our awful life was under the delusion that if he [Assad] lost authority, we would be massacred and slaughtered. Our life was filled with great fear about the prospect of our being subject to genocide if he left. No one ever told us that you [the insurgents] would enter in such a peaceful way and without bloodshed. By God we have never treated anyone on a sectarian basis, but rather with all humanity and love. We lost martyrs, and you lost martyrs. God have mercy on all the martyrs. And let’s work together to build a new, free Syria: one hand and one people in all its sects and religions. To the dustbins of history, oh traitor [Assad]!”