'My father never dreamed he would see me again': Inside opposition-held Aleppo

Abdulkafi, an English teacher from the bluish Syrian metropolis of Aleppo, saw his begetter for the archetypal clip successful 20 years connected Monday.

“He is 85, an aged man. He ne'er dreamed helium would spot maine again earlier helium died,” Abdulkafi told the BBC.

A video of the encounter, seen by the BBC, shows the 2 men embracing and sobbing with emotion.

Their agelong separation began erstwhile his father, who had been moving successful Saudi Arabia, returned to regime-held territory, erstwhile Abdulkafi had already moved to opposition-controlled areas.

The affectional reunion was made imaginable by a astonishment absorption offensive, which saw the equipped rebel radical Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allies prehend swathes of territory, including Aleppo, from forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

Abdulkafi is 1 of respective radical wrong Aleppo who person spoken to the BBC.

They described being treated with respect by HTS fighters and accrued supplies of energy and water, but besides fears astatine warfare returning to Aleppo and distrust that the erstwhile al-Qaeda-linked group’s professed moderation would last.

Many requested anonymity for their ain safety. Some details of idiosyncratic accounts could not beryllium verified owed to the trouble of reporting independently from Syria.

Many radical successful Aleppo are frightened of renewed fighting, the locals the BBC spoke to said. Air strikes by authorities and allied Russian forces person already killed dozens, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group.

One antheral told the BBC his main interest was the bombardment that helium feared could deed the metropolis astatine immoderate point. He said helium had stopped his household from adjacent going to the country shop.

“We’re surviving successful implicit apprehension,” helium said. He added that the aerial strikes that person deed the metropolis implicit the past fewer days reminded him of earlier periods successful the war.

Aleppo, which had been captured by rebels successful the aboriginal years of the Syrian civilian war, was retaken by Syrian authorities forces backed by Russia successful 2016 aft a gruelling siege. Since then, the metropolis has mostly avoided nonstop warfare. The Syrian authorities claims recognition for what it says is the ongoing reconstruction of the city, which until the warfare was Syria’s commercialized hub.

But NGOs and autarkic journalists impeach the authorities of wide quality rights abuses there, including torture and killings of civilians and non-existent antiauthoritarian rights.

Abdulkafi said immoderate of his relatives were acrophobic to beryllium seen with him for fearfulness of retribution were authorities forces to retake the metropolis erstwhile again.

“Nineteen Eighty-Four is applied successful Aleppo. Assad’s representation is connected each building, streets, connected each corner. He is controlling their minds,” helium said, referring to the George Orwell caller astir totalitarianism.

One pistillate said radical successful Aleppo were “confused and scared” pursuing the rebel takeover. She said she hadn't near her location astatine first, but aboriginal went for walks and drives with her household aft proceeding that civilians were not being harassed by the rebels.

“Everywhere was comparatively calm. But everyone looked frightened and anxious, you could consciousness it successful their faces and their reactions. No-one looked comfortable.

”People are scared, due to the fact that we don’t spot anyone oregon what their absorption mightiness beryllium to what’s happening now.

“We consciousness fto down by everyone. We don’t cognize what’s going to hap to us.”

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George Meneshian, a Greek-Armenian governmental expert who is successful interaction with Armenians successful Aleppo, said Christians successful the metropolis had not experienced immoderate problems since the HTS takeover.

“On the archetypal day, an HTS combatant knocked connected the doorway of an Armenian neighbour and assured them that they would decidedly not harm them,” helium told the BBC, adding that his sources were acrophobic to straight talk to the media owed to fearfulness of retribution.

“They said they would respect them and let them to bash immoderate they want, arsenic Christians and arsenic Armenians.”

But helium said Christians were suspicious of HTS promises, saying number groups successful Syria had antecedently been persecuted by jihadist groups which astatine archetypal said they would not harm non-Muslims. He said galore had grown utilized to Assad’s rule, which was authoritarian but astatine slightest did not actively persecute Armenians.

“There are precedents for Islamist militias initially not harming anyone, but afterwards committing crimes against minorities. Hopefully this volition not beryllium the case.”

But Abdulkafi, who lives successful the HTS-controlled metropolis of Al-Dana successful Idlib, said that minorities had thing to fearfulness from the group, which helium stressed helium disagreed with.

“They are showing overmuch much flexibility, due to the fact that the highest accomplishment that HTS tin get is acceptance from the world. This doesn’t mean that I similar them.”