I arrived to a different Damascus from the one I had seen a month ago. The distant sound of gunfire and shelling had faded, but locals assured me that clashes between opposition and regime forces continued, albeit sporadically, in the city’s outlying suburbs. There were fewer checkpoints in downtown Damascus, although the presence of the regime’s armed, plainclothed security officers and Shabiha militiamen was still prevalent. 

Compared with the urban warfare that occurred here after the assassination of some of the regime’s top officials in July, and the street-to-street battles that are currently tearing Aleppo apart, the regime maintained the outward appearance of control in Damascus. They had won the battle of Damascus after having battered many opposition strongholds into submission throughout the month of August. But there was foreboding among the citizens. 

“It’s been quiet the last few days,” said Abu Nour, a household-supplies shopkeeper in the Damascus neighborhood of Rawda, as I passed his shop during a walk around the capital a day after I arrived into the war-ravaged country early last week. 

“It feels nice to have some peace, but it’s also worrying,” he continued. “God help us with what’s coming next.”