Christians in Syria mark country's transformation with tears
In churches across long-stifled Syria, Christians marked the first Sunday services since the collapse of Bashar Assad 's government in an air of transformation. Some were in tears. Others clasped their hands in prayer.
"They are promising us that government will be formed soon and, God willing, things will become better because we got rid of the tyrant," said one worshiper, Jihad Raffoul, as the small Christian population hoped that new messages of inclusion would ring true.
"Today, our prayers are for a new page in Syria's future," said another, Suzan Barakat.
To help those efforts, the U.N. envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, called for a quick end to Western sanctions as the rebel alliance that ousted Assad and sent him into exile in Russia a week ago considers the way forward.
Syria has been under deeply isolating sanctions by the United States, the European Union and others for years as a result of Assad's brutal response to what began as peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 and spiraled into civil war.
In another sign of yearning for normalcy, schools in Damascus reopened for the first time since Assad's ouster. At the Nahla Zaidan school in the Mezzah neighborhood, teachers hoisted the three-starred revolutionary flag.
"God willing, there will be more development, more security and more construction in this beloved country," said school director Maysoun Al-Ali.
But other challenges complicate rebuilding. The new leadership has not laid out a clear vision of how the country will be governed, and the main group behind the offensive remains designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., which nevertheless has begun making direct contact.
Officials in Washington have indicated that the Biden administration is considering removing the terror designation from the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which was once an al-Qaida affiliate.
The interim government is set to rule until March. Arab foreign ministers have called for U.N.-supervised elections based on a new constitution.
"We need to get the political process underway that is inclusive of all Syrians," Pedersen said. He also called for justice and accountability for crimes committed during the war, as some families continued to search for the tens of thousands of people that Assad's government placed in prisons and detention facilities.
An emergency meeting this weekend with foreign ministers from the U.S., Arab League and Turkey and top officials from the European Union and U.N. agreed the new government in Syria should prevent terror groups — like remnants of the Islamic State group — from taking hold and secure and destroy any remaining Assad-era chemical weapons.
The meeting also urged all parties to cease hostilities in Syria.
'More respect' for Syria's minority groups
Syria's new leaders also have been urged to respect the rights of minorities and women.
Many Syrian Christians, who made up 10% of the population before Syria's civil war, either fled the country or supported Assad out of fear of Islamist insurgents. Last Sunday's church services were canceled.
"We were scared of the events taking place," said Ibrahim Shahin, a Catholic church supervisor.
But this Sunday, doors reopened and bells rang out.
"Now we see that for the minorities, on the contrary, they are showing us more respect, and they are taking care of us," said Agop Bardakijian, a Christian resident of Aleppo at a bustling cafe. Children posed for photos in front of Christmas trees.
Residents had been warned of slaughter as the rebels closed in, but nothing like that has happened, said another Aleppo resident who gave his name as Raed, adding, "The revolution should have happened long ago."
There were some signs of disorder. A rebel force was deployed to a village in southeastern Damascus to stop looters who swarmed a residential complex housing former military personnel and set apartments on fire. The rebels fired at the crowd to drive them away and detained about a dozen people. Looting in the capital has been limited.
