DAMASCUS: Bewildered and elated prisoners poured out of Syrian jails on Sunday, shouting with joy as they emerged from one of the world’s most notorious detention systems and walked to freedom following the collapse of Bashar Assad’s government.
All across Syria, families wept as they were reunited with children, siblings, spouses and parents who vanished years ago into the impregnable gulag of the Assad dynasty’s five-decade rule.
A video verified by Reuters showed newly freed prisoners ran through the Damascus streets, holding up the fingers of both hands to show how many years they had been in prison, asking passers-by what had happened, not immediately understanding that Assad had fallen.
“We toppled the regime!” a voice shouted and a prisoner yelled and skipped with delight in the same video. A man watching the prisoners rush through the dawn streets put his hands to head, exclaiming with wonder: “Oh my god, the prisoners!“
Throughout the civil war that began in 2011, security forces held hundreds of thousands of people seized in detention camps where international human rights organizations say torture was universal practice. Families were often told nothing of the fate of their loved ones.
As insurgents seized one city after another in a dizzying eight-day campaign, prisons were often among their first objectives. The most notorious prisons in and around Damascus itself were finally opened on the uprising’s final night and the early hours of Sunday.
When they reached Sednaya prison, militants shot the lock off the gate, a video showed, using more gunfire to open closed doors leading to cells. Men poured out into corridors and a courtyard, cheering and helping them open more cells.
In a video uploaded by Step News Agency, a grey-haired man leapt into the arms of relatives in a sudden, disbelieving hug, the three men clasping each other and sobbing with joy before one fell to his knees, still clutching the freed man’s legs.
The pan-Arab Al Arabiya news channel showed a family arriving in Damascus by car from Jordan to meet their newly released son, the elderly mother’s voice breaking with emotion as she told the interviewer he had been freed after 14 years.
Reuters was not immediately able to verify the locations of some of the videos, though no one disputed that prisons were opened across the country.
Relief and terror
In what was purported to be the women’s block at Sednaya prison on the Damascus outskirts, perhaps the most notorious in the country, a militant recorded the moment he reached cells and pulled open the doors for prisoners who seemed to have had little idea they were about to be freed.
“May God honor you!” a woman shouted to the men freeing her. As they left their cells a toddler could be seen walking the corridor, having apparently been held in the prison along with his mother.
“He (Assad) has fallen. Don’t be scared,” a voice shouts, trying to reassure the prisoners that they faced no more danger.
In another video, a deafening roar erupted as militants marched down a corridor, said to be in the prison at Mezzeh air base southwest of the old center of Damascus. Prisoners leaned through the bars at the top of doors and banged on the sides of their cells as shouts of joy echoed all around.
One video showed a shaven-headed man squatting on his heels, trembling and barely able to answer the militants asking his name and where he was from.
Over the years, thousands of Syrians were brusquely informed by authorities that their relatives had been executed, sometimes years earlier.
The United States said in 2017 it had evidence of a new crematorium built at Sednaya especially to dispose of bodies of thousands of inmates hanged during the war.
Some of the most disturbing information about Assad’s prison system came with thousands of photographs smuggled out of Syria by a military photographer codenamed Caesar who defected to the West in 2013.
His photographs of thousands of killed detainees showed clear marks of torture and starvation and for many families provided the first evidence that imprisoned relatives were dead.
A few miles from Sednaya early on Sunday, a stream of freed prisoners was recorded walking toward Damascus, many lugging sacks of belongings on their backs, and chanting “God is great!”
Bewildered, elated prisoners pour out as Assad’s jails flung open
https://arab.news/r74ey
Bewildered, elated prisoners pour out as Assad’s jails flung open
- Throughout the civil war that began in 2011, security forces held hundreds of thousands of people seized in detention camps
Jordanian King discusses Gaza with UK national security adviser
- King Abdullah emphasized the urgent need to reinstate the ceasefire in Gaza
- He commended the UK’s role in promoting stability in the region
LONDON: King Abdullah II of Jordan met UK National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell at Al-Husseiniya Palace to discuss regional developments on Wednesday.
King Abdullah highlighted the significance of the relationship between Amman and London and the cooperation in various sectors, including defense, during the meeting that Crown Prince Hussein also attended.
He emphasized the urgent need to reinstate the ceasefire in Gaza, resume the flow of humanitarian aid and rebuild the Palestinian coastal enclave without displacing its residents, the Petra news agency reported.
They discussed the current events in the occupied West Bank and new developments in Syria. King Abdullah commended the UK’s role in promoting stability in the region, Petra added.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, the director of the King’s office, Alaa Batayneh, Ambassador to the UK Manar Dabbas, Director of the General Intelligence Department Maj. Gen. Ahmad Husni, and British Ambassador to Jordan Philip Hall.
UN peacekeepers say Israel hit Lebanon base with ‘direct fire’
- UNIFIL said it was ‘concerned by the recent aggressive posture of the Israel Defense Forces involving UNIFIL personnel and assets’
- Included an ‘incident in which a direct fire hit the perimeter of a UNIFIL position south of the village of Kfar Shouba’
BEIRUT: The UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon protested on Wednesday at “direct fire” by the Israeli military at one of its positions, the first since a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel.
UNIFIL sits on the international committee created to supervise the ceasefire agreement that kicked in on November 27 and ended more than two months of all-out war between Israel and the pro-Iranian militant group.
In a statement, UNIFIL said it was “concerned by the recent aggressive posture of the Israel Defense Forces involving UNIFIL personnel and assets.”
That included an “incident in which a direct fire hit the perimeter of a UNIFIL position south of the village of Kfar Shouba,” which it said took place on Tuesday.
The force said it “observed two shots fired from south of the Blue Line,” in reference to the de facto border between Israel and Lebanon.
It was the first time since November 27 that Israel has directly hit a UNIFIL position, it said.
At the height of the fighting last October, the peacekeeping force accused Israel of having hit its positions or peacekeepers at least 20 times.
As well as the “direct hit” on Tuesday, UNIFIL said there were “at least four other incidents involving IDF fire near its positions” and “other aggressive behavior by the IDF toward peacekeepers performing their operational activities.”
It said that on Tuesday that peacekeepers patrolling alongside the Lebanese army “reported being targeted by a laser from a nearby IDF position.”
“UNIFIL protests all such and we continue to remind all actors of their responsibility to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property and to respect the inviolability of UN assets and premises at all times,” the statement read.
According to the terms of the ceasefire, the Israeli military is required to withdraw completely from southern Lebanon while Hezbollah must dismantle its military assets in the region and withdraw north of the Litani river.
Israel has largely completed its withdrawal, though it insisted on keeping its forces at five points inside Lebanon that it considers strategic and has repeatedly launched strikes inside the country.
The ceasefire is based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which requires that UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese army be the only armed bodies in southern Lebanon.
Qatar, US sign key agreements during Trump’s visit to Doha
- Two leaders discussed strengthening ties in defense, investment, energy, education and cybersecurity
DOHA: Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and US President Donald Trump oversaw the signing of several major agreements and memorandums of understanding on Wednesday during a state visit to Doha, Qatar News Agency reported.
The leaders witnessed the signing of a joint declaration of cooperation between the two governments, as well as agreements including a Boeing aircraft purchase, a statement of intent on defense cooperation, and letters of offer and acceptance for MQ-9B drones and the FS-LIDS anti-drone system, QNA added.
During official talks, the emir praised the historic nature of the visit and the two leaders discussed strengthening ties in defense, investment, energy, education and cybersecurity.
They also reaffirmed their shared commitment to regional peace and security.
Sheikh Tamim and Trump also touched on preparations for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the 2028 Olympics, which will be hosted in the US.
President Trump thanked the emir for Qatar’s warm hospitality and described Sheikh Tamim as a longtime friend and trusted partner.
He voiced optimism about expanding cooperation and achieving lasting peace in the Middle East.
Senior Qatari ministers and US cabinet officials, including the secretaries of state, defense, treasury, commerce and energy, also attended the talks and signing ceremony.
Gaza rescuers say 80 killed in Israeli strikes amid hostage release talks
- Civil defense official Mohammed Al-Mughayyir told AFP 80 people had been killed by Israeli bombardment since dawn, including 59 in the north
- From the occupied West Bank, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said Wednesday he favored a “ceasefire at any price” in Gaza
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Gaza rescuers said at least 80 people were killed in Israeli bombardment across the Palestinian territory on Wednesday, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to US envoy Steve Witkoff about the release of hostages.
Negotiations for the release of the captives held in Gaza have been ongoing, with the latest talks taking place in the Qatari capital Doha, where US President Donald Trump was visiting on Wednesday.
Netanyahu’s office said the premier had discussed with Witkoff and his negotiating team “the issue of the hostages and the missing.”
Witkoff later said Trump had “a really productive conversation” with the Qatari emir about a Gaza deal, adding that “we are moving along and we have a good plan together.”
Fighting meanwhile raged in Gaza, where civil defense official Mohammed Al-Mughayyir told AFP 80 people had been killed by Israeli bombardment since dawn, including 59 in the north.
AFP footage from the aftermath of a strike in Jabalia, northern Gaza, showed mounds of rubble and twisted metal from collapsed buildings. Palestinians, including young children, picked through the debris in search of belongings.
Footage of mourners in northern Gaza showed women in tears as they kneeled next to bodies wrapped in bloodstained white shrouds.
“It’s a nine-month-old baby. What did he do?” one of them cried out.
Hasan Moqbel, a Palestinian who lost relatives, told AFP: “There are no homes fit for living. I have no shelter, no food, no water. Those who don’t die from air strikes die from hunger, and those who don’t die from hunger die from lack of medicine.”
Israel’s military on Wednesday urged residents in part of a Gaza City neighborhood to evacuate, warning that its forces would “attack the area with intense force.”
From the occupied West Bank, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said Wednesday he favored a “ceasefire at any price” in Gaza, accusing Netanyahu of wanting to continue the war “for his own reasons.”
Mohammad Awad, an emergency doctor in northern Gaza’s Indonesian Hospital, told AFP that supply shortages meant his department could not properly handle the flow of wounded from the Jabalia strike.
“There are not enough beds, no medicine, and no means for surgical or medical treatment, which leaves doctors unable to save many of the injured who are dying due to lack of care,” he said.
Awad added that “the bodies of the martyrs are lying on the ground in the hospital corridors after the morgue reached full capacity. The situation is catastrophic in every sense of the word.”
Israel imposed an aid blockade on the Gaza Strip on March 2 after talks to prolong a January 19 ceasefire broke down.
The resulting shortages of food and medicine have aggravated an already dire situation in the Palestinian territory, although Israel has dismissed UN warnings that a potential famine looms.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, unimpeded humanitarian access and an immediate cessation of hostilities,” in Gaza.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the humanitarian situation in Gaza was “ever more dramatic and unjustifiable.”
A US-led initiative for aid distribution under Israeli military security drew international criticism as it appears to sideline the United Nations and existing aid organizations, and would overhaul current humanitarian structures in Gaza.
Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said the plan would make “aid conditional on forced displacement” and vetting of the population.
It added in a statement that Israel was creating “conditions for the eradication of Palestinian lives in Gaza.”
Israel resumed major operations across Gaza on March 18, with officials later talking of retaining a long-term presence in the Palestinian territory.
Following a short pause in air strikes during the release of US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander
on Monday, Israel resumed its pounding of Gaza.
Netanyahu said on Monday that the military would enter Gaza “with full force” in the coming days.
He added that his government was working to find countries willing to take in Gaza’s population.
The Israeli government approved plans to expand the offensive earlier this month, and spoke of the “conquest” of Gaza.
Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas’s October 2023 attack, 57 remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.
The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 52,928 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to figures from the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry, which the United Nations considers reliable.
Turkiye eyes legal steps after Kurdish militant group PKK disbands
- The pro-Kurdish DEM party urged Ankara on Tuesday to take 'confidence-building steps' such as freeing political prisoners
- Government plans to release to house arrest those who are sick, or women with children, if they are serving sentences of less than five years
ANKARA: After the decision by the Kurdish militant group PKK to disband, Turkiye was eyeing Wednesday a raft of legal and technical measures to ensure its full implementation and finally end a four-decade insurgency.
Monday’s announcement sought to draw a line under a bloody chapter that began in 1984 when the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) took up arms, triggering a conflict that cost more than 40,000 lives.
“What matters most is the implementation,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday, pledging to “meticulously monitor whether the promises are kept.”
The pro-Kurdish DEM party, a key player that facilitated contact between jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan and the political establishment, urged Ankara on Tuesday to take “confidence-building steps” such as freeing political prisoners.
So far, Turkish officials have said little but the government is working on a proposal that could ease prison sentences in general.
The text, which should be submitted to parliament by June at the latest, provides for the conditional release of all those in pre-trial detention for offenses committed before July 31, 2023.
There are also plans to release to house arrest those who are sick, or women with children, if they are serving sentences of less than five years.
There are nearly 10,000 political prisoners in this country. If a peace process is ever to get under way, they must be released as soon as possible
DEM co-chair Tulay Hatimogullari
The moves could affect more than 60,000 people, Turkish media reports say.
But the authorities are reportedly being careful not to frame it as an “amnesty.”
“Sick prisoners should not die in prison... These measures should not be interpreted as a general amnesty, which is not on the agenda,” Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said.
But DEM co-chair Tulay Hatimogullari said a move to free prisoners was essential.
“There are nearly 10,000 political prisoners in this country... If a peace process is ever to get under way, they must be released as soon as possible,” she said Monday.
For DEM, that must include prisoners like Selahattin Demirtas, the charismatic former leader of a former pro-Kurdish party who has been jailed since 2016.
“With the complete elimination of terror and violence, the door to a new era will open,” Erdogan said Monday.
Some prisoners, such as Demirtas or the philanthropist Osman Kavala, who is serving life on charges of “trying to overthrow the government,” could in theory be quickly freed if Turkiye heeded rulings by the European Court of Human Rights, which has repeatedly demanded their release.
PKK’s fighters and weapons
But before that, Ankara is awaiting concrete proof that the PKK has actually laid down its weapons, Abdulkadir Selvi, a columnist close to the government, wrote in the Hurriyet newspaper.
“The democratic changes will start after the head of the MIT (intelligence services) has submitted his report to President Erdogan,” he wrote.
According to Turkish media reports, the MIT will supervise the weapons handover at locations in Turkiye, Syria and Iraq.
It will register the weapons handed in and the identity of the fighters in coordination with the Syrian and Iraqi authorities.
“Our intelligence service will follow the process meticulously to ensure the promises are kept,” Erdogan said Wednesday.
Most of the PKK’s fighters have spent the past decade in the mountains of northern Iraq.
Those who have committed no crime in Turkiye will be allowed to return without fear of prosecution.
But the PKK’s leaders will be forced into exile in third-party states such as Norway or South Africa, media reports suggest.
Duran Kalkan, a member of the PKK’s executive committee, said Tuesday that renouncing armed struggle “can only be implemented under (Ocalan’s) leadership” and when he is guaranteed “free living and working conditions.”
Experts say prison conditions for Ocalan, 76, will be “eased” but he is unlikely to leave the Imrali prison island where he has been held since 1999, largely because his life would be threatened.
“Naming trustees (to replace deposed mayors) will become an exceptional measure... after the terrorist organization is dissolved,” Erdogan said, suggesting that Kurdish mayors removed from office over alleged ties to the PKK would be reinstated.
In total, 16 opposition mayors from the DEM and the main opposition CHP have been removed since local elections in March 2024.
