On a street corner in the old town of Damascus, rugged men with rifles stare sharply at passers-by. Despite their appearance, the long beards and scruffy improvised military fatigues, they are not the militiamen of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), but local Christian volunteers protecting the neighbourhood. When Bashar al-Assad fell and Islamist rebels took over, some of the Christians in the country feared the worst. Though atrocities have and do still happen, the bloodbath many feared never took place.
“There was a feeling that the regime may protect us from fanatics,” explains Father Jihad, the head monk
The police station nearby was ransacked by angry locals on the night Assad fled the country. The police force was disbanded by HTS when they took over, and now their fighters are awkwardly trying to fill in their roles. Outside the building, an old lady, Maria Farouj, is sitting next to the trashed police cars patiently waiting for her turn.
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