Throughout the Middle East and beyond, Collapse of Syria’s dictatorship by the hands of jihadist It evokes waves of joy, anxiety, and alarm.
Syrian expatriates and many residents across the Middle East were overjoyed by this. overthrow of leaders He led his homeland through a 14-year civil war that left half a million Syrians dead and millions fleeing to countries around the world.
Some people are still worried Further instability It is causing chaos in the area. Governments, whether Assad’s allies or opponents, scrambled to absorb the sudden and surprising development and assess the impact on the Middle East and the world.
Mixed emotions in the Middle East
In Lebanon, despite the uncertainty, thousands of Syrians headed to the Masna border to return to their home country.
“There is nothing better than Bashar,” said Sami Abdel Latif, a refugee from Hama who was planning to return home to join his wife and four children.
“This is the feeling we have been waiting for for 14 years,” said Malak Matar, who was preparing to return to the capital Damascus. Now, he said, “Syrians must create a well-organized state and take care of their country.”
Many citizens of Syria’s neighboring countries reacted with joy to the news that Assad was gone. Muhab al-Majari, a resident of Jordan’s capital Amman, said his fall marked the end of an “unjust and oppressive regime.”
“I believe the future will be beautiful and prosperous for Syrians,” he said.
Others in the region, where the energy of the 2011 Arab Spring democracy movements collapsed into conflict and authoritarian rule, were less convinced.
Saeed Sowi, an engineer in Egypt’s capital Cairo, predicted that the Syrian rebels would fall into internal conflict over the country’s future.
“We’ve seen this happen before,” he said. “We saw this in Libya, Tunisia, Yemen and Sudan. People celebrate the fall of a tyrant, but then they are divided and fight, and civil war begins.”
Syria’s neighboring countries have increased security along their borders. Lebanon announced it would close all but one of its land borders with Syria. Jordan also closed its border crossings.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu He said Israeli forces had – temporarily – occupied the Golan Heights buffer zone established by the 1974 cease-fire agreement after Syrian forces abandoned their positions. The airstrikes were reported to have taken place on a military airport near Damascus and other Syrian military facilities that had previously been targeted by Israel.
Iran, a key ally of President Assad, said the Syrian people should decide the country’s future “without destructive and coercive foreign intervention.”
Tehran’s Foreign Ministry said Iran supports Syria’s unity and national sovereignty and looks forward to “ending the military conflict, preventing terrorist activities and starting national dialogue” with the participation of all groups.
The Iraqi government, which is close to Iran, said it “supports all international and regional efforts aimed at starting dialogue” on behalf of Syria. Egypt’s foreign ministry called for an “inclusive political process” to forge a new era of peace in the war-torn country.
The internationally recognized head of Yemen’s government hailed the fall of the Assad regime as a “historic moment”. Yemen’s government is at war with the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
Turkey supports anti-Assad militants in Syria and could play a key role in what happens next. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the fall of the Assad regime brought “hope”. He called on the world to help Syria “unite and rebuild.”
Fidan, who met in Qatar on Saturday with diplomats from Russia and Iran, the Assad regime’s main backers, said regional and world powers should strive to “act cautiously and calmly.”
Europe calls for calm
The war has caused millions of Syrians to flee to Europe, and expatriates have taken to the streets to celebrate in cities including Paris, London, Stockholm, Helsinki and Athens.
Many European governments welcomed Assad’s departure but called for a swift return to stability.
In a post on It’s about securing it.” I will continue to work with all constructive partners in Syria and the region. ”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz He said in a statement that the end of the Assad regime was “good news”, adding: “What is important now is that law and order are quickly restored in Syria.” The French Foreign Ministry welcomed the fall of the Assad regime, saying, “The Syrian people have suffered too much.”
Keir Starmer British Prime Minister He also welcomed the end of the Assad regime’s “barbaric regime.”
“We call on all sides to protect civilians and ethnic minorities and ensure that vital aid reaches the most vulnerable in the coming hours and days.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres also called for calm and urged efforts to ensure an “orderly political transition to the new system”.
Russia, which supports President Bashar al-Assad with troops and fighter jets, said it was watching the “dramatic events” in Syria with “extreme concern.”
Andriy Sibikha, the foreign minister of Ukraine, which is at war with Russia, wrote in X that the ousted Syrian leader “suffered the fate of all the dictators who bet on (Russian President Vladimir) Putin.” He always betrays those who rely on him. ”
US assesses events
President Joe Biden met with his national security team in Washington on Sunday and was seeking an update on the situation in Syria.
President-elect Donald Trump “Syria is in turmoil, but it is not our friend. The United States should have nothing to do with it,” he said in a social media post on Saturday, before Assad’s ouster was confirmed. Ta. This is not our fight. Let’s play. Don’t get caught! ”
The United States has about 900 troops in Syria, including American forces working with Kurdish allies in the rebel-held northeast to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State.
