Syrians living in DMV celebrate collapse of Assad regime
Syrians in the DMV react to fall of Assad regime
Syrian President Bashar Al Assad has left the country after a fast-moving offensive by a coalition of his opponents ousted what President Joe Biden called a regime that brutalized, tortured and killed hundreds of thousands of people. Experts say it’s still too early to know what the long-term implications of this are but members of the Syrian community in the DMV are rejoicing
WASHINGTON - Syrian President Bashar Al Assad has left the country after a fast-moving offensive by a coalition of his opponents ousted what President Joe Biden called a regime that brutalized, tortured and killed hundreds of thousands of people.
Experts say it’s still too early to know what the long-term implications of this are but members of the Syrian community in the DMV are rejoicing.
FOX 5’s David Kaplan spoke with three Syrians living in the U.S. and all were rejoicing Sunday night, celebrating the end of a ruler that brought a lot of pain to them and their families.
Mohammad Al Abdallah was a political prisoner, a victim of torture in Syria and is now a leader of the Syria Justice and Accountability Center. This is emotional for him.
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He plans to go to Syria in the next few weeks, and for the first time in nearly 20 years, hug his father.
"Just watching those people walking free was amazing. Seeing Sednaya prison again in video, that’s a place where I was held for some time. People deserve better than this. We deserve better than this guy," Al Abdallah said. "Hopefully, we will get the better. The transition is not going to get us down."
The happiness we’re hearing about in the short term right comes with some trepidation about what comes next.
Multiple groups were part of the coalition that forced Assad from the country, some of them with extremist ties.
Al Abdallah says those groups right now are saying what he hopes to hear about a future Syrian government, and there’s hope that it will come to fruition.
Doctor Amy Austin Holmes is an expert on Syria who teaches at George Washington University and Texas A&M. She says this is a historic moment, but what happens next will be closely watched.
"It’s too early to tell exactly what’s going to happen. There are talks now between HTS and the SDF. I hope that they will be able to come to an agreement and find some way to govern that is inclusive of all Syrians of all backgrounds," Holmes said.
There are some reports tonight that Russia has granted Assad asylum.
Al Abdallah is worried that will protect Assad from the accountability he seeks but still says his being gone is a positive development.