Fighters of the new Syrian regime on the road between Tartous and Latakia, on Friday, March 7. (Credit: Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images via AFP)
Yara* did not wait for the fighters to reach Qardaha before fleeing. Alerted by friends and residents of nearby villages, who warned that armed factions were entering homes and killing people, she gathered a few belongings and fled with her parents and brother to a nearby orchard."We arrived here on Thursday at 1 p.m. After two hours, we started hearing gunshots, and smoke spread everywhere. I don’t know exactly who these armed groups are," said the 30-something resident of the Assad family’s hometown.On Friday morning, her brother managed to return to assess the damage at their home. "They set our house on fire, they broke everything around it," Yara said in despair. "They also stole a motorcycle."For 48 hours, the most violent fighting since the Assad regime’s fall has erupted between official security forces and pro-Assad factions,...
Yara* did not wait for the fighters to reach Qardaha before fleeing. Alerted by friends and residents of nearby villages, who warned that armed factions were entering homes and killing people, she gathered a few belongings and fled with her parents and brother to a nearby orchard."We arrived here on Thursday at 1 p.m. After two hours, we started hearing gunshots, and smoke spread everywhere. I don’t know exactly who these armed groups are," said the 30-something resident of the Assad family’s hometown.On Friday morning, her brother managed to return to assess the damage at their home. "They set our house on fire, they broke everything around it," Yara said in despair. "They also stole a motorcycle."For 48 hours, the most violent fighting since the Assad regime’s fall has erupted between official security forces and pro-Assad...