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DAMASCUS, Syria – Visitors are greeted by giant posters of President Bashar Assad in Syria.
The signs proclaim: "Welcome to victorious Syria."
In the capital of Damascus, many of the checkpoints that have been snarling for years have disappeared. The city is once again connected to its sprawling suburbs once held by the opposition, and many former residents and visitors from other parts of Syria fill its streets.
There is a new feeling of hope that a close approach of the seven Syrian civil years. war "
" It's almost over, "recounts Nazeer Habash, 60, as he was returning home near Hijaz station, in central Damascus." That's it. as a child when he begins to walk, to take steps after others, and victory will always be on our side. "
On a central square not far from where rebel shells landed there a few months, families and teenage groups took selfies.Children were playing on a large sculpture that read: "I (heart) Damascus."
The atmosphere of celebration in the regions Controlled by the government stems from the successive military progress of last year.
It is fueled by the feeling that Assad, Thanks to the unwavering support of its allies, Russia and Iran have won – or at least defeated the opposition fighters who were trying to overthrow him.
The country suffered Catastrophic damage and some aspects of the conflict are far from being solved. Yet many Syrians – even among the opposition – are hoping for some degree of security and stability.
The government now controls the main opposition strongholds and key cities like Aleppo, Homs and even Daraa, the southern city where the uprising
The vital border crossing with Jordan, sealed for years , is expected to reopen soon after the troops take over the province of Daraa, and hopes are high for the resumption of Syrian trade and exports to the Arab countries. The Syrians can now cross the Jordanian border in the south to the central province of Hama, on one of the most important highways in the country, cut by insurgents for years in several places. It is reported that the Damascus railway in Aleppo will resume operations later this year.
The government's latest triumph comes this week as rebels agree to give up their last pockets in southwestern Quneitra province. restore authority along the Israeli border.
"The direct threat to Damascus is over, and as it is the capital, its conditions affect all the other parts of the country," said Rami al-Khayer, 27, sipping a hot drink with a friend at the famous Cafe Nofara in the old quarter of the capital.
in the devastated areas formerly controlled by the rebels outside Damascus is radically different. But even amid the ruins, life slowly returns to normal, with the reopening of businesses and the return of people.
In Douma, the largest city near Damascus and place of a chemical attack in April, trucks and bulldozers (19659017) The operation in Duma is the beginning of a long process to clear the debris of Eastern Ghouta, the chain of towns and villages east of Damascus that were held by rebels and besieged by government forces for five years. Until the rebels travel in the spring, residents suffer from food shortages, with reported cases of malnutrition. Now, almost everything is available, although the prices are still too high for many.
Two months ago, Mohammed Sleik reopened his sandwich shop near the heavily damaged Duma Grand Mosque. During the siege, he had to look for supplies; "Things improve but slowly," says Sleik while he was preparing a sandwich of fries in pita bread for a customer of his store, named Zaman al-Sham – Arabic for "Era".
He said that he sells about 170 sandwiches a day, more than three times what he sold before government forces seized the area. Sleik has six employees in his shop, where the menu includes beans, falafels and fries
Stores are reopening on Douala's main street in Jalaa, and shoppers recently bought agricultural products, clothes and shoes. Nearby Ain Terma, a city that has suffered much more destruction than Duma because it is closer to the capital, residents complain that electricity and water current are still rare. They have to rely on energy generators and tankers to get water to their homes.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and NGOs like Oxfam have placed red giant drinking water tanks every 100 meters In the streets of Ain Terma and Duma, the inhabitants can fill the containers for free
"Now we have a state here," said Taha Aboud, 60, owner of a shoe repair shop in Ain Terma. Every day, he says, government trucks are distributing bread for free
After being locked up for years, residents of Ghouta can go to Damascus and return there, although they have to stay away. register at checkpoints when they enter and leave. Samih Hanafi, standing outside his hair salon in Ain Terma.
Suha Touma, a teacher from Hbadakeh, brought her daughter Chrystabel to the Umayyad place of Damascus to play in a garden decorated with the colorful sculpture "I (heart) Damascus". They traveled from the northeastern province of Hbadakeh to spend the summer in Damascus for the first time in years, now that he is safe.
"We see that the victory will be very close, and we see soon the end of the conflict," she said while her daughter was running in the garden
"I hope my daughter will become a teacher like me so that she will teach future generations to love their country, "she says with a broad smile Copyright 2018 The Associated Press All rights are reserved This document can not be published, disseminated or rewritten or redistributed.
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