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| 'We feel normal for once': lull in fighting brings some respite for Syrians | 'We feel normal for once': lull in fighting brings some respite for Syrians |
| (5 days later) | |
| When the guns fell silent in north-west Syria last Saturday, Mustafa al-Nairab was sure it marked a lull, not a ceasefire. One week later, he knows he was right. | When the guns fell silent in north-west Syria last Saturday, Mustafa al-Nairab was sure it marked a lull, not a ceasefire. One week later, he knows he was right. |
| From Idlib to Aleppo, which has been a focal point of a four-month Russian air campaign and the partial ceasefire since, there are still jets and helicopters in the sky and artillery rounds thumping into buildings. Just fewer of them. | From Idlib to Aleppo, which has been a focal point of a four-month Russian air campaign and the partial ceasefire since, there are still jets and helicopters in the sky and artillery rounds thumping into buildings. Just fewer of them. |
| “The majority of people here thought it was a trick by the regime and the Russians to regroup their troops, then attack,” Nairab said of the Russian- and US-brokered deal to slow the war. “And this is actually happening in parts of Idlib. We can see the planes from where we are. And we can hear the bombs too.” | “The majority of people here thought it was a trick by the regime and the Russians to regroup their troops, then attack,” Nairab said of the Russian- and US-brokered deal to slow the war. “And this is actually happening in parts of Idlib. We can see the planes from where we are. And we can hear the bombs too.” |
| Before its implementation, the ceasefire was hailed as the most serious effort yet to lead Syria out of its five-year morass. Seven days on, scepticism remain entrenched in communities loyal to the opposition, where the ongoing targeting of towns and villages has garnered next to no international reaction. | Before its implementation, the ceasefire was hailed as the most serious effort yet to lead Syria out of its five-year morass. Seven days on, scepticism remain entrenched in communities loyal to the opposition, where the ongoing targeting of towns and villages has garnered next to no international reaction. |
| Related: West’s approach to Syria has its dangers | Letters | |
| A clause to allow continued attacks against proscribed terror groups such as Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra has been broadly interpreted by loyalist forces and used to justify ongoing bombing, especially across an area from east of Latakia to west of Aleppo. | A clause to allow continued attacks against proscribed terror groups such as Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra has been broadly interpreted by loyalist forces and used to justify ongoing bombing, especially across an area from east of Latakia to west of Aleppo. |
| How Syrians see this latest phase of war is largely determined by where they live, perhaps even more so now that the battlefield is so palpably changing. | How Syrians see this latest phase of war is largely determined by where they live, perhaps even more so now that the battlefield is so palpably changing. |
| In loyalist parts of the country there is a sense that things are going well, potentially paving the way for negotiations to reconvene in Geneva next week. “Somehow things feel different here now,” said a Damascus-based lawyer who called himself Gabriel. “People are out on the streets, there are no echoes of explosions, and the soldiers are smiling at checkpoints.” | In loyalist parts of the country there is a sense that things are going well, potentially paving the way for negotiations to reconvene in Geneva next week. “Somehow things feel different here now,” said a Damascus-based lawyer who called himself Gabriel. “People are out on the streets, there are no echoes of explosions, and the soldiers are smiling at checkpoints.” |
| A belief prevails that talks will soon start to capitalise on recent military gains, and that most stakeholders will be satisfied with such an outcome. “That, after all, is what the Russians have been trying to do,” said a resident of Tartous and supporter of Bashar al-Assad. “Bomb them until they can’t stand it any longer, then open talks.” | A belief prevails that talks will soon start to capitalise on recent military gains, and that most stakeholders will be satisfied with such an outcome. “That, after all, is what the Russians have been trying to do,” said a resident of Tartous and supporter of Bashar al-Assad. “Bomb them until they can’t stand it any longer, then open talks.” |
| But from the vantage point of the battered north-west, hopes that good-faith diplomacy could soon emerge from interminable misery are derided by those under the bombs. | But from the vantage point of the battered north-west, hopes that good-faith diplomacy could soon emerge from interminable misery are derided by those under the bombs. |
| “There isn’t a human life left in Hraitan,” said Rami, 26, a resident of the town just to the north of Aleppo. “Before the last regime attack, we had schools and hospitals and markets. Now everyone has gone. We have to go far away to buy vegetables and bread. | “There isn’t a human life left in Hraitan,” said Rami, 26, a resident of the town just to the north of Aleppo. “Before the last regime attack, we had schools and hospitals and markets. Now everyone has gone. We have to go far away to buy vegetables and bread. |
| “I’m sitting here alone in Hraitan. I sent my family away on the 10th of February and my wife delivered a baby on the 14th. I haven’t met him yet. People will soon slowly be heading back because they prefer to die in their homes.” | “I’m sitting here alone in Hraitan. I sent my family away on the 10th of February and my wife delivered a baby on the 14th. I haven’t met him yet. People will soon slowly be heading back because they prefer to die in their homes.” |
| Common ground between the two sides remains as elusive as ever, except for one welcome trend – the demonstrably lower rates of killing over the past week. In the month before the ceasefire, the daily death toll was averaging 120. Since last Saturday it has been nearer to 40. | Common ground between the two sides remains as elusive as ever, except for one welcome trend – the demonstrably lower rates of killing over the past week. In the month before the ceasefire, the daily death toll was averaging 120. Since last Saturday it has been nearer to 40. |
| “That’s because most of the terrorists have been killed, or have run to Europe,” said another Tartous resident, Cecile Ahras. | “That’s because most of the terrorists have been killed, or have run to Europe,” said another Tartous resident, Cecile Ahras. |
| “It’s because we are not fighting,” said Jamal Qero, a rebel official from the Aleppo countryside. “We have honoured the deal. The Russians and Hezbollah have used it to gain ground, just as we knew they would.” | “It’s because we are not fighting,” said Jamal Qero, a rebel official from the Aleppo countryside. “We have honoured the deal. The Russians and Hezbollah have used it to gain ground, just as we knew they would.” |
| Nairab said: “The difference now is that people can have normal conversations and talk about life instead of chatting endlessly about airstrikes and barrel bombs. We feel normal for once after many years. It’s like living a dream to be partly normal for once. | Nairab said: “The difference now is that people can have normal conversations and talk about life instead of chatting endlessly about airstrikes and barrel bombs. We feel normal for once after many years. It’s like living a dream to be partly normal for once. |
| “People started going out more especially to the marketplace, which we call the death markets because it was attacked three times. There is a secret hope that this could be the end of [people’s] nightmare but we know this is just a wish and a dream that might not ever come true.” | “People started going out more especially to the marketplace, which we call the death markets because it was attacked three times. There is a secret hope that this could be the end of [people’s] nightmare but we know this is just a wish and a dream that might not ever come true.” |
| Amid the desolation of Hraitan, there are familiar sounds that have nothing to do with war. “For the first time, I can notice spring here,” said Rami. “I hear the sound of birds after years. Even birds seem to hesitate to sing in this part of the world.” | Amid the desolation of Hraitan, there are familiar sounds that have nothing to do with war. “For the first time, I can notice spring here,” said Rami. “I hear the sound of birds after years. Even birds seem to hesitate to sing in this part of the world.” |
| Thirty miles north, in the border town of Azaz – the fate of which is central to the outcome of the war – most schools have reopened for the first time in almost a year. | Thirty miles north, in the border town of Azaz – the fate of which is central to the outcome of the war – most schools have reopened for the first time in almost a year. |
| “We are here in Azaz moving more freely after the ceasefire,” said a local resident, Abu Yousef. “Our kids are finally going to schools. We have 11 schools in Azaz and I can say that only about 40% [attended] after the Russian attacks started, and now with the ceasefire more families are sending their children. | “We are here in Azaz moving more freely after the ceasefire,” said a local resident, Abu Yousef. “Our kids are finally going to schools. We have 11 schools in Azaz and I can say that only about 40% [attended] after the Russian attacks started, and now with the ceasefire more families are sending their children. |
| “But we still fear going to the areas where the regime frequently bomb, like the children’s hospital. If we pass by it, we walk quickly. People do not build a lot of hope on the ceasefire, they know it won’t last for long and the regime will break it in one way or another. For now though, we are breathing.” | “But we still fear going to the areas where the regime frequently bomb, like the children’s hospital. If we pass by it, we walk quickly. People do not build a lot of hope on the ceasefire, they know it won’t last for long and the regime will break it in one way or another. For now though, we are breathing.” |
| Additional reporting by Mais al-Baya’a | Additional reporting by Mais al-Baya’a |