JAKARTA: As information unfold on an unnerving Saturday night that insurgent forces had been making ready to enter the Syrian capital Damascus, residents closed their doorways and home windows. Among them had been tons of of Indonesian residents.
According to the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Damascus, there are roughly 1,162 Indonesian residents dwelling in Syria, most of whom reside in Damascus, the place roughly 200 Indonesian college college students research. One of them is Tubagus Muhammad.
“Suddenly, the web connection was reduce that night time, so we did not know what was taking place outdoors,” the 22-year-old Indonesian college pupil advised CNA.
Tubagus then went to sleep in his dormitory in Rukn al-Din district, positioned about 10 minutes from former president Bashar Al-Assad’s palace. At round 2am on Sunday (December 8), he woke as much as the sound of gunshots.
“You may hear gunshots in every single place. I assumed there had been a taking pictures. That was most likely the scariest night time for me,” stated Bilad al-Sham University pupil.
“I additionally recorded a video of my will, fearing that it is likely to be one in all my final nights,” he added.
However, when the web connection was restored round 5 a.m., Tubagus realized that the sounds he had heard weren’t gunshots, however reasonably celebratory pictures fired into the air.
“They had been truly celebrating, celebrating the truth that the regime fell,” Tubagus advised CNA.
On Sunday, the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham opposition forces led by Abu Mohammed al-Golani managed to proceed their advance towards the Syrian authorities, culminating within the seize of Damascus. This pressured Assad to flee the nation and he was reportedly granted asylum in Russia.
The fall of Assad marked the start of the top of Syria’s 13-year battle, which left greater than 580,000 folks useless and displaced one other 12 million.
On Sunday, as rebels declared the top of Assad’s regime, residents poured into the streets celebrating their freedom from the regime’s grip.
The joyful ambiance was additionally felt by Wahyudi, one other Indonesian pupil who graduated from Damascus. After morning prayers that day, Damascus residents left their properties chanting the Islamic “takbir,” he stated.
“The ambiance was extra festive than throughout Eid. It wasn’t scary in any respect. The sound of gunshots could possibly be heard as a type of celebration,” Wahyudi advised CNA.
