Former soldiers give up their weapons for papers

On the night of December 6, Mohammed al-Nadaf, a soldier in the Syrian army, was at his position in Homs.

When rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) entered the city days after they seized control of Aleppo and Hama in a lightning offensive, Mohammed decided he did not want to fight.

“We had neither orders nor information. I took off my uniform, left my weapon and started to make my way to my village in Tartus,” he said.

Around the same time, Mohammed Ramadan was in a position on the outskirts of the capital, Damascus.

“We had no one to order. Many of our commanders escaped before us. So I thought, why should I die and fight for someone who didn’t even give me a salary to feed my family?

“We received one egg and one potato for a daily soldier’s ration.”

The next morning he also left his post and went home.

The testimonies of the soldiers make it possible to understand the rapid collapse of the regime of the deposed President Bashar al-Assad.

To many of his demoralized and underpaid forces on the ground, the speed with which their defenses disintegrated in the face of the insurgent advance came as no surprise.

Many soldiers told us they are paid less than $35 (£28) a month and have to do other work to survive in a country where this only covers part of their basic living costs.

Mohammed Ramadan was holding the Kalashnikov that had been assigned to him when we met him and several others in Damascus more than two weeks after the fall of the regime at a “reconciliation center” run by HTS.

At the center, ex-military, police and intelligence officers, as well as anyone who was part of pro-Assad armed groups, can register for a temporary civilian ID card and hand in their weapons.

VTS announced a general amnesty for those who worked for the former government.

Walid Abdrabukh, a member of the group that oversees the reconciliation centers in Damascus, said: “The aim is for the weapons issued by the former regime to be returned to the state. And the members of the forces received a civil certificate. so that they can be reintegrated into society.”

Under Assad, conscription was mandatory for adult men. Conscripts had to hand in their civilian IDs, but they were issued military IDs instead.

Without a citizenship card, it would be difficult to get a job or move freely around the country, which partly explains why tens of thousands have turned up at centers in various cities.

At the center in Damascus, which used to be the office of Assad’s Baath party, hundreds of men crowded the gates, wanting to be let in.

Many of them sought to distance themselves from the regime’s crimes.

“I was not involved in any of their bad deeds. I consider them vile acts. I did everything not to become a participant in mass murders and crimes against Syrians,” said Mohammed al-Nadaf.

“I even tried to leave the army twice, because I knew I was on the wrong side. But it was not possible to escape. The military had all my civil documents.”

Somar al-Hamwi, who served in the army for 24 years, said: “Most people don’t know anything, okay? As for me, I don’t know what happened in Saydna or any of the prisons.”

The BBC cannot independently verify their claims.

Anger at the regime and Assad’s decision to flee to Russia on December 7 as the rebels closed in on Damascus were also palpable.

“He (Bashar Assad) took a lot of money and ran away. He left all these people, all of us soldiers, to our fate,” Somar said.

There were many worried faces among the crowds at the reconciliation center, but the environment appeared relatively friendly despite a 13-year civil war that has killed more than half a million people.

“Everyone told me it was safe and to go and settle in the centre. The security guarantees made by HTS made a big difference,” said Mohammed al-Nadaf.

But there are increasing reports of alleged revenge attacks involving murders, kidnappings and arson from various parts of Syria. There are no exact statistics to confirm the number of attacks, but dozens have been reported on social media.

Last week, three judges handling property-related cases in the formerly regime-held town of Masiyaf in northwestern Syria – Munzer Hassan, Mohammed Mahmoud and Youssef Ghanum – were killed. Sources at the hospital where their bodies were examined told the BBC that they had been hit on the head with a sharp object.

We went to Alameria village to visit the house of Munzer Hasan. It was bare, cold, and seemed in need of repair.

Munzer’s wife, Nadine Abdullah, told us she believes her husband was targeted because he was an Alawite, the minority sect from which the Assad family is descended and to which many of the former regime’s political and military elite belonged.

“Since they were civil judges and not criminal judges, I think they were killed simply because they were Alawites. All Alawites did not benefit from Bashar al-Assad. Those who worked for the regime were forced to follow orders, otherwise they would strict measures are imposed on them,” said Nadine.

Mountzer’s brother Nazir said: “This is a crime against an innocent person. This is unacceptable. Those killed had nothing to do with the regime’s policies. They were just working to support their poor families.”

Mauntzer was the father of four young children and was the sole wage earner in his family, while also caring for his ailing father and brother.

His family said they are speaking out because they want to prevent such deaths in the future.

“Everyone says that HTS did not commit a crime. But as the governing body now, they have to find out who did it. They must provide protection for all of us,” Nadine said.

The HTS interim government condemned the killing of the judges and said it would find the perpetrators. He also denies involvement in any retaliatory killings.

Protests have taken place in Masiaf since the killing of the judges, and many Alawites have told the BBC they are now worried about their safety.

While HTS announced an amnesty for Assad’s forces, they also said those involved in torture and killings would be brought to justice. It will be a difficult balance to achieve.

A few weeks after the fall of the regime, this is a delicate moment for Syria.

Additional reporting by Amir Peerzada and Sanjay Ganguly.