In Lebanon, many hail Assad downfall as Syrian refugees stream home
Many Lebanese are celebrating the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria after Lebanon suffered for decades under the Syrian military occupation and its interference in Lebanese politics.
BEIRUT — The news of the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria after more than 50 years of his family’s rule has been widely welcomed in neighboring Lebanon, which has had a tumultuous history with Damascus.
People across Lebanon took to the streets on Sunday, celebrating the fall of Assad after Syrian rebels swept across Syria and reached Damascus late on Saturday. Hundreds of people gathered in the Sunni-majority city of Tripoli in the north, distributing sweets and lighting fireworks as they cheered the end of Assad’s rule in Syria.
The same scenes played out in other regions in Lebanon, including in the capital Beirut, in the northern city of Akkar and in the east near the border with Syria.
Continued celebratory gunfire and fireworks in #Tripoli in north #Lebanon following the announcement that the government of Bashar al-#Assad had fallen and that the rebels have taken control of #Syria. #سوريا #بشار_الأسد #طرابلس #لبنان pic.twitter.com/U2vtE971GQ
