Damascus’s joy and worry as people wonder: What happens after al-Assad?
Al Jazeera
People at Bashar al-Assad’s villa in the Syrian capital celebrate but also express concern over Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
Damascus, Syria – Outside a decadent villa in central Damascus, a man in a burgundy sweater and black track pants climbs onto a ledge and picks kumquats off a tree.
As he passes them down to others gathered there, someone yells: “May God never bless him!”
A harsh insult for the former resident of this property – who just fled the country – and one that, just two days earlier, no Syrian would have dreamed of even whispering!
Nor would Bashar al-Assad’s Presidential Guard, a special unit of the Syrian Army designated to protect the leader and his palaces, allow access to such a property.
While this is not one of al-Assad’s many palaces, locals gathered around it on Monday say this villa was one of many properties the family used for receiving guests around the country.
