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Abdulkafi, an English instructor from Aleppo, noticed his father for the primary time in years on Monday, days after rebels launched a significant offensive and took management of the northern Syrian metropolis from authorities forces.
“He is 85, an old man. He never dreamed he would see me again before he died,” mentioned Abdulkafi, who lives in opposition territory. Until the offensive he had been unable to cross into regime-held Aleppo.
A video of the encounter, seen by the BBC, reveals the 2 males embracing and sobbing with emotion.
Abdulkafi is certainly one of a number of folks inside Aleppo who’ve spoken to the BBC for the reason that metropolis was captured by the armed insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allies from forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.
They described being handled with respect by HTS fighters and elevated provides of electrical energy and water – but in addition spoke of their fears at conflict returning to Aleppo and mistrust that the previous al-Qaeda-linked group’s professed moderation would final.
Tens of hundreds of individuals have been displaced by the latest preventing, based on the UN.
Many interviewees requested anonymity for their very own security. Some particulars of particular person accounts couldn’t be verified as a result of problem of reporting independently from Syria.
Many folks in Aleppo are frightened of renewed preventing, the locals the BBC spoke to mentioned. Air strikes by the Syrian authorities and allied Russian forces have already killed dozens, based on the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group.
One man informed the BBC his predominant fear was the bombardment that he feared may hit the town at any level. He mentioned he had stopped his household from even going to the nook store.
“We’re living in complete apprehension,” he mentioned. He added that the air strikes which have hit the town over the previous few days reminded him of earlier intervals within the conflict.
Aleppo, most of which had been captured by rebels within the early years of the Syrian civil conflict, was retaken by Syrian authorities forces backed by Russia in 2016 after a gruelling siege.
Since then, the town has principally averted direct warfare. The Syrian authorities claims credit score for what it says is the continued reconstruction of the town, which till the conflict was Syria’s industrial hub.
But NGOs and unbiased journalists accuse the federal government of widespread human rights abuses there, together with torture and killings of civilians and non-existent democratic rights.
Abdulkafi and his father’s reunion was joyful – however Abdulkafi mentioned a few of his relations have been afraid to be seen with him for concern of retribution have been regime forces to retake the town as soon as once more.
“Nineteen Eighty-Four is applied in Aleppo. Assad’s image is on every building, streets, on every corner. He is controlling their minds,” he mentioned, referring to the George Orwell novel about totalitarianism.
HTS was arrange underneath a special identify, Jabhat al-Nusra, in 2011 as a direct affiliate of al-Qaeda. It has since cut up from the group and claims to have moderated its ideology.
Others in Aleppo stay fearful nevertheless. One girl mentioned folks have been “confused and scared” following the insurgent takeover. She mentioned she hadn’t left her home at first, however later went for walks and drives along with her household after listening to that civilians weren’t being harassed by the rebels.
“Everywhere was relatively calm. But everyone looked scared and anxious, you could sense it in their faces and their reactions. No-one looked comfortable.
“People are scared, because we don’t trust anyone or what their reaction might be to what’s happening now.
“We feel let down by everyone. We don’t know what’s going to happen to us.”
One man, Mohammad, informed the BBC on Sunday that he had seen some armed males on the streets whereas he had been out shopping for meals. Many different folks had been stocking up on provides, he mentioned.
“When I went out the militiamen asked me if I was going to leave the city, they said to me ‘don’t worry it is safe for you’,” he mentioned.
“One of the men from the militia asked why my sister, who I was with, did not have her head covered. But they didn’t tell her to cover it – they just asked why.
“We are grateful that these armed teams have taken over. They are higher than the federal government.
“There is a lot of fear, fear that the city will run out of food, but our biggest fear is of the Russia and Syrian government bombardment.”
George Meneshian, a Greek-Armenian political analyst who is in contact with Armenians in Aleppo, said Christians in the city had not experienced any problems since the HTS takeover.
“On the first day, an HTS fighter knocked on the door of an Armenian neighbour and assured them that they would definitely not harm them,” he told the BBC, adding that his sources were afraid to directly speak to the media due to fear of retribution.
“They said they would respect them and allow them to do whatever they want, as Christians and as Armenians.”
Meneshian said Christians were suspicious of HTS promises, saying minority groups in Syria had previously been persecuted by jihadist groups which at first said they would not harm non-Muslims. He said many had grown used to Assad’s rule, which was authoritarian but at least did not actively persecute Armenians.
“There are precedents for Islamist militias initially not harming anyone, but afterwards committing crimes against minorities. Hopefully this will not be the case.”
A Syrian opposition leader abroad told Reuters that rebels taking control of Aleppo also paves the way for Syrians displaced within the country and up to 600,000 in neighbouring Turkey to eventually return home.
Abdulkafi, who lives in the HTS-controlled city of Al-Dana in Idlib, said that minorities had nothing to fear from the group, which he stressed he disagreed with.
“They are showing much more flexibility, because the highest achievement that HTS can get is acceptance from the world. This doesn’t mean that I like them.”
Additional reporting by Gabriela Pomeroy
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