I hope Assad pays the price, mother whose son's death inflamed Syria's revolution tells BBC

If the propulsion to oust Bashar al-Assad was calved anywhere, it was calved successful Deraa, a tiny metropolis successful Syria adjacent the Jordanian border.

Here, connected 21 May 2011, the tortured and mutilated assemblage of 13-year-old Hamza al-Khatib was delivered to his household weeks aft his apprehension astatine an anti-government rally.

His death, and the torture of different section teenagers for penning anti-Assad graffiti, sparked wide protests and a harsh crackdown by authorities forces.

If anyone successful Deraa should beryllium celebrating the autumn of Assad's regime, it's the Khatib family.

But erstwhile we visited today, nary 1 successful that location was celebrating.

They had conscionable been sent screenshots of documents recovered successful the notorious Saydnaya situation confirming that Hamza's older member Omar - besides arrested by the constabulary successful 2019 - had died successful custody.

The boys' mother, Samira, shaking with grief, told maine she had been waiting for Omar to look from prison.

"I was reasoning possibly he'll travel contiguous oregon tomorrow," she said. "Today, I got the news."

Dressed each successful black, and already mourning her husband, who died little than 3 months ago, she asked for erstwhile President Bashar al-Assad himself to acquisition what she had lived through.

"I anticipation helium volition wage the price," she said. "And that God volition instrumentality revenge connected him, and connected his children."

Her nephew, Hossam al-Khatib, said the documents had been published connected societal media, by radical scouring Saydnaya for accusation connected their relatives. They recovered Omar's record and shared it online, knowing that helium was Hamza's brother.

The autumn of Assad has lifted the lid connected decades of repression successful Syria, and overmuch of Deraa was retired connected the streets connected Sunday, giddy with freedom, arsenic rebel fighters took the superior Damascus and Assad fled.

Mobile telephone footage shows crowds of men moving astir Deraa's cardinal quadrate successful a chaotic outpouring of joyousness - shouting and firing weapons into the air.

This country was a cardinal absorption heartland during the Assad authorities - dense battles are etched onto schools and homes here, colony aft colony corroded by vessel rounds and instrumentality weapon fire.

The absorption successful this confederate portion of Syria is antithetic to the confederation led by Islamist militant radical Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which swept down from the northbound and took the superior past week. But they some converged connected the superior connected Sunday.

The Free Syria Army (FSA) began warring present successful 2011, erstwhile the harsh authorities crackdowns pursuing Hamza's decease convinced immoderate serving officers successful Assad's service to defect and signifier a rebel force.

One of them was Ahmed al-Awda, a writer who studied English lit astatine assemblage earlier becoming an service officer, and past a rebel person - present the militia person of Deraa Province.

"You can't ideate however blessed we are," helium told maine successful the adjacent municipality of Busra. "We person been crying for days. You can't ideate what we feel. Everyone present successful Syria mislaid family. Everyone was suffering."

Mr Awda said helium was among the archetypal to participate Damascus connected Sunday, on with HTS. The archetypal happening helium did, helium added, was to spell to the embassies and authorities buildings, to support the radical inside.

"We took galore of the civilian authorities guys to the Four Seasons hotel, and enactment a precise large unit determination to support them," helium said.

"You cognize it volition beryllium a huffy time, truthful I did my champion to support everybody there, adjacent the authorities guys. I don't privation to punish them, they are Syrian."

But helium says helium won't forgive Assad truthful easily.

"I volition bash my champion to bring him to judgement successful court, to instrumentality his punishment, due to the fact that we volition not hide what helium did to the Syrian people, and however helium destroyed Syria."

Assad's departure has bestowed a fragile unity connected Syria and its divers absorption forces. But they nary longer person a communal enemy, and with extracurricular powers inactive invested here, their differences could travel nether strain.

There are concerns that Syria could travel the way of Iraq and Libya and splinter into chaos.

"We saw what happened successful Iraq and we garbage it," Mr Awda said.

Assad's forces weren't the lone ones helium was warring present implicit the past fewer years. Islamic State (IS) radical cells - inactive scattered crossed the eastbound of the state - were besides a threat.

Mr Awda says helium fought against them, sidesplitting a elder IS leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Qurayshi, 2 years ago.

Now Assad's almighty backers, Iran and Russia, are nary longer acting arsenic a brake connected IS, galore present are disquieted astir a resurgence.

Mr Awda is adamant this won't happen. "No," helium insisted. "I kicked them out. We didn't propulsion Assad retired lone to unrecorded nether IS."

Now helium wants escaped elections, believing that the Syrian radical volition ne'er again take anyone who would go a dictator.

In Deraa's cemetery, the plaque connected Hamza's sedate lies successful pieces - breached by a authorities vessel ammunition during warring with rebel forces here, the household said.

"They kept hitting him adjacent erstwhile helium was dead," 1 relative remarked.

Neighbours watched successful soundlessness arsenic the Syrian absorption emblem was tied astir Hamza's headstone.

Behind it, the graves archer a communicative of 13 years of fighting: an aerial strike, a battle, a full household killed successful their home.

The warfare with Assad has ended - but bid successful Syria has not yet been won.