Umayyad Square in Damascus hummed to the throngs of people brandishing “revolution” flags as Syria rang in the new year yesterday with hope following 13 years of civil war.
Gunshots rang out from Mount Qasioun overlooking the capital, where hundreds of people gazed up at fireworks.
It was the first new year’s celebration without an al-Assad in power for more than 50 years after the fall of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad last month.
Photo: AFP
“Long live Syria, Assad has fallen,” shouted some children.
“We did not expect such a miracle to happen, today the Syrians have found their smile again,” Layane el Hijazi, a 22-year-old agricultural engineering student, told reporters from Umayyad Square. “We were able to obtain our rights, we can now talk. I am letting off steam these last three weeks and tonight by bringing out everything I had buried.”
The green, white and black “revolution” flag with its three red stars was all over the capital.
Such a sight — the symbol of a Syrian uprising against the al-Assad dynasty’s rule — was unthinkable a month ago.
“Whatever happens, it will be better than before,” said Imane Zeidane, 46, a cartoonist, who came to Umayyad Square with her husband and their daughter.
“I am starting the new year with serenity and optimism,” she said, adding that she has “confidence” in the new government under de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia launched a humanitarian air bridge to Syria, delivering food, shelter and medical supplies, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
The air bridge, established by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center aims to “alleviate the effects of the difficult conditions currently facing the Syrian people,” the news agency reported.
Others, including the EU and Ukraine, have also announced aid for Syria, where the UN said seven out of 10 people need support.
Riyadh’s air bridge would “be followed by another land bridge in the coming days,” said Abdullah al-Rabeeah, the head of the center.
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and accompanying warships were in the Philippines yesterday after holding combat drills with Philippine forces in the disputed South China Sea in a show of firepower that would likely antagonize China. The Charles de Gaulle on Friday docked at Subic Bay, a former US naval base northwest of Manila, for a break after more than two months of deployment in the Indo-Pacific region. The French carrier engaged with security allies for contingency readiness and to promote regional security, including with Philippine forces, navy ships and fighter jets. They held anti-submarine warfare drills and aerial combat training on Friday in
COMBAT READINESS: The military is reviewing weaponry, personnel resources, and mobilization and recovery forces to adjust defense strategies, the defense minister said The military has released a photograph of Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) appearing to sit beside a US general during the annual Han Kuang military exercises on Friday last week in a historic first. In the photo, Koo, who was presiding over the drills with high-level officers, appears to be sitting next to US Marine Corps Major General Jay Bargeron, the director of strategic planning and policy of the US Indo-Pacific Command, although only Bargeron’s name tag is visible in the seat as “J5 Maj General.” It is the first time the military has released a photo of an active
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
RSS