Syrian in Pärnu says country faces uncertain future despite Assad's fall
While people in Syria are happy about the fall from power of Bashar al-Assad and his regime, it is too early to forecast what will happen next, according to a Syrian national resident in Pärnu.
Omar Bakerjan, who has lived in the southwest Estonian town for eight years now, told "Aktuaalne kaamera" that fears in Syria remain of the civil war, now over a decade old, continuing.
He said: "I have spoken to my mother and father; they had met with my brothers, from various cities."
"Everyone is happy there because the Assad regime has fallen," he went on.
"I can't discuss anything right now because this is fresh news, but I hope all the best with the new Syria and the new system," Bakerjan commented on the situation in Syria.
"Of course, yes, we were happy. And millions, they are happy, and the political prisoners were freed, fortunately, the ones we had been waiting for for many years."
Bakerjan acknowledged, however, that Syrians still fear that civil war may return.
"We fear that civil war will come back, that people's thoughts will run in the opposite direction and that they won't be able to unite all together. That could all happen," he went on.
Despite the relief over Assad's fall, the uncertainty surrounding Syria's future makes it impossible for Bakerjan to consider returning anytime soon.
"Right now, it is hard to think about returning to Syria, as we don't know what more lies ahead, what more is coming," he concluded.
Bashar al-Assad fled Syria for Russia on Sunday, after rebel forces led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, recently entered Damascus, marking the end of his rule of nearly a quarter of a century – and nearly 60 years for the Assad family.
A close ally of Russia, which up to now has operated a naval base at Tartous and an air base near Latakia, Assad arrived in Moscow, where he has been granted asylum.
The multi-sided Syrian Civil War has lasted since March 2011, and began in the context of the wider Arab Spring movement.
Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost in the conflict to date.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Valner Väino
Source: 'Aktuaalne kaamera,' reporter Kristi Raidla.