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It was the early part of the night when the leader of the Syrian revolution, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, accompanied by his four guards, arrived at a multi-story residential building in a middle-class area of Damascus. Using the elevator, he reached the 10th floor and stood outside an apartment, a place filled with memories of his childhood and youth. Since leaving his home in Damascus, 23-24 years of hardships had passed, marked by much bloodshed. However, the most significant change was that the once-reserved and shy Ahmad Al-Sharaa, who had set out on the path of migration inspired by the Intifada of 2000, was now a transformed man. Back then, he would silently express his anger at the state of the Palestinians. Whether it was the local barber or the girl whose brother played video games with Ahmad, all agreed that this boy with large, expressive eyes spoke very little. Even the owner of the grocery store where Ahmad worked briefly shared the same view — this young man was deeply saddened by the plight of Jerusalem.
Returning to the story of the apartment: Ahmad Al-Sharaa rang the doorbell, and the new occupants, Dr. Ahmad Suleiman and his wife, answered the door. Seeing Ahmad face-to-face, they trembled with fear. The Assad regime had gifted this apartment to them after Ahmad Al-Sharaa’s identity as "Abu Muhammad" became known. Ahmad’s parents had moved to Egypt, and the regime had seized their house and business (Ahmad’s father had opened a property and grocery store upon returning from Saudi Arabia, but it was confiscated in the early days of the war).
Ahmad Al-Sharaa requested Dr. Suleiman and his wife to vacate the apartment, as it held sentimental value for him, and his parents, who had been forced to migrate to Egypt, wished to return to their home. Dr. Suleiman agreed to vacate the apartment, and Ahmad thanked him, giving them some time to pack and relocate.
Another aspect of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime, which many may not recall, was its facilitation of armed groups entering Iraq through the Syrian border following the U.S. invasion. Assad had two reasons for this: his opposition to both Saddam Hussein and the U.S. By channeling Islamist youth into Iraq, he achieved two objectives: first, these youths expended their energy resisting opponents of Assad, and second, those who posed a threat to Assad’s rule would be killed by American forces, reducing risks to his regime. (This policy mirrored the approach adopted by the U.S., Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and several Arab nations during the Afghan conflict — sending Islamist youth to Afghanistan to fight a common enemy, Russia, benefiting from the clash of two adversaries.)
However, Bashar Al-Assad overlooked a critical point: armed groups, once used, often turn against their handlers. From 9/11 to the fall of Damascus, this lesson repeatedly emerged. Those who once had nothing now wield political influence in places like Damascus and Kabul. The complex dynamics of militancy backfired on those who believed they were untouchable. Little did Bashar Al-Assad know that among the young men he facilitated into Iraq was a once-shy youth who would eventually topple his regime, consigning the Assad dynasty to history’s dustbin.
Note:
The story of the apartment is sourced from Arab journalists or their social media accounts.
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