On the morning of December 8, 2024, Syrians celebrated the end of the Assad family's tyrannical regime. But far from everyone is hopeful for a peaceful future. FUF correspondent Josephine Forthmann contacted two people in Syria to hear their thoughts on the regime change.
"I just woke up and the whole country is liberated. The new leadership says I can now talk to anyone, about anything," says Sabry Abdoush.
After fifty-four years of a dictatorship that committed human rights abuses against its own population and thirteen years of civil war, the Assad regime is gone. Syria is now undergoing a significant transformation that is expected to impact both the country and the region.
In less than two weeks, a group of rebel forces, led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), overthrow the brutal Assad regime.
HTS is an Islamist militant group that was formed in 2017. They have links to Al Qaeda, but have tried to distance themselves from them and terrorism in order to attract broader support.
The so-called rebels are opposition forces that have fought against the Syrian government during the civil war. This loose network includes jihadist groups, opposition forces and military organizations that all opposed the Assad regime.
Although Turkey has denied involvement in the offensive, experts say that Assad's fall is in Turkey's geopolitical interests. Some argue that Turkey stands as the ultimate “winner” of the protracted Syrian civil war.
For example, they argue that the HTS takeover would not have been possible without Ankara's approval. Of the actors in the region, Ankara is said to have the best communication with the new Syrian regime, and can use the relationship to influence Syria's future.
"Although I am happy that Assad is gone, I am worried about the future. The new government is made up of Islamists who have studied Sharia. They are handing out books in restaurants and public areas. The content is about women wearing the veil. They don't want women to have rights," says Sabry.
Kurdish autonomy under threat
Not everyone believes in a bright future for Syria. Many Kurds living in northern Syria are concerned about increased Turkish influence. Syria's population is heterogeneous, with Kurds, at 10 percent of the population, constituting the largest ethnic minority.
– The liberation from Assad means that we are now under Turkish occupation instead of Syrian. During the formation of the new Syrian government, they have been silent about whether they will take the Kurds and our rights into account, says Diana, 22.
She is from Afrin, which is located in the Kurdish autonomous region of Rojava, and does not believe that the changes in Syria will benefit the Kurdish population.
– We understand that Syrians are celebrating the liberation from the Assad regime, but we remain skeptical about how HTS will treat our hard-won autonomy. Syrian prisons have been emptied, but many Kurdish prisoners are still imprisoned, says Diana.
Rojava – A defacto autonomous region on the border with Turkey
Rojava, officially known as the Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), is led by a Kurdish administration. Kurdish self-rule in Syria began in 2012. Its ideology is based on democratic confederalism, which emphasizes direct democracy, local autonomy, gender equality, and the inclusion of ethnic and religious groups.
While some in Rojava believe that confederalism and its ideas could spread to other Syrian regions, others worry that Turkey and its proxy groups will crush Kurdish autonomy to achieve Erdogan's ambition to recreate a neo-Ottoman empire.
According to Diana, Turkey is a threat to Kurdish independence.
– They continue to oppress us by banning our language and forcibly displacing Kurds. What worries us Kurds most right now is that Kurdish autonomy and identity will be erased. We are being pressured to abandon our Kurdish heritage and identify ourselves as Arabs. Turkey's goal has long been to erase our identity and existence, says Diana.
Turkey sees the Kurdish semi-autonomous regions near its border as a threat to Turkish interests and appears to be doing everything it can to weaken Kurdish rule. Turkish bombing of Rojava has been ongoing since 2018, but attacks on Kurdish areas have intensified after the collapse of the Assad regime.
HTS has expressed a vision of establishing an Islamist rule in Syria, and has not officially announced whether it intends to respect the Kurds' desire for self-government.
Turkey has been deeply involved in the conflict in Syria and has supported anti-Assad forces.The country has not officially expressed support for HTS and has defined the group as a terrorist organization, but is still reported to have a indirect relationship with the group. HTS has negotiated with Turkey and operates side by side in northern Syria. The Ankara government's decision not to fight HTS and to allow their presence is believed to be part of Turkey's broader goal of reducing Kurdish influence near its borders.
“Kurdish forces in Syria must be disarmed, and their leaders must leave the country, otherwise Turkey will intervene to secure its interests,” Turkey’s foreign minister said in a statement. statement.
Turkey has the potential to exploit the power vacuum to strengthen Turkish influence in the upcoming post-Assad negotiations that will shape the direction of Syria's political future.
What the future of Syria will look like is still unclear. For Sabry and Diana, there is hope for a democratic, equal and inclusive Syria, but also concern about how the new political leadership will approach minority rights and Kurdish autonomy.
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