Snow Storm Brings Misery for Syrian Refugees

A Syrian boy clears snow from a tent in a displaced persons' camp outside Jisr al-Shughur - AFP
A Syrian boy clears snow from a tent in a displaced persons' camp outside Jisr al-Shughur - AFP
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Snow Storm Brings Misery for Syrian Refugees

A Syrian boy clears snow from a tent in a displaced persons' camp outside Jisr al-Shughur - AFP
A Syrian boy clears snow from a tent in a displaced persons' camp outside Jisr al-Shughur - AFP

In Syria, days of heavy snowfall blanketed displaced persons' camps northwest Syria where families huddled together under canvas in temperatures well below zero Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit).

"We've been trapped in the snow for four days," said Abu Hussan, who lives with his family in a makeshift camp outside the city of Jisr al-Shughur.

"We have no shoes. We are soaked with water. The children are sick and walk barefoot. They have nothing."

The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said this week that at least 227 displacement sites across the northwest have been hit by severe winter weather since January 18.

"545 tents have been reported destroyed and 9,125 tents damaged by snowfall, floods and winds, along with belongings of displaced people," it said, AFP reported.

In crisis-hit Lebanon, refugees and Lebanese alike struggled to secure fuel for heating as severe weather blocked mountain roads and left Syrian refugees shivering in flimsy tents.

In the small Mediterranean country, where economic crisis has driven more than 80 percent of the population into poverty, fuel prices have skyrocketed after the cash-strapped government lifted subsidies last year.

Conditions have been particularly severe in the town of Arsal, high in the mountains on the Syrian border, where Lebanese families and some 70,000 Syrian refugees have been struggling to cope with the cold.

"Most of the people can't afford fuel for heating," Arsal mayor Basel Hujeiri told AFP.

In neighboring Jordan, heavy snowfall closed roads in the capital Amman and made driving conditions treacherous across much of the country.

Jordan's Meteorological Department forecast more snowfall on higher ground with temperatures expected to fall below freezing again on Thursday night.

Egypt recorded its coldest winter in a decade, with temperatures as much as seven to eight degrees below the seasonal average.

The storm whipped up waves of nearly six metres (20 feet), disrupting shipping in the eastern Mediterranean, the meteorological office said.



Syrians Rejoice during First Eid after Assad's Fall

Hundreds of Syrian Muslims perform Eid al-Fitr prayers at the Grand Mosque in Maarat al-Numan in Idlib, Syria, 31 March 2025.  EPA/BILAL AL HAMMOUD
Hundreds of Syrian Muslims perform Eid al-Fitr prayers at the Grand Mosque in Maarat al-Numan in Idlib, Syria, 31 March 2025. EPA/BILAL AL HAMMOUD
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Syrians Rejoice during First Eid after Assad's Fall

Hundreds of Syrian Muslims perform Eid al-Fitr prayers at the Grand Mosque in Maarat al-Numan in Idlib, Syria, 31 March 2025.  EPA/BILAL AL HAMMOUD
Hundreds of Syrian Muslims perform Eid al-Fitr prayers at the Grand Mosque in Maarat al-Numan in Idlib, Syria, 31 March 2025. EPA/BILAL AL HAMMOUD

Eid al-Fitr in Syria was charged with newfound joy this year, as thousands freely celebrated the holiday for the first time after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

From the early morning hours, crowds of men, women and children flocked to pray at Damascus's historic Umayyad Mosque in the Old City.

"This is the first time we truly feel the joy of Eid, after getting rid of Assad's tyrannical regime," Fatima Othman told AFP.

Following prayer, worshippers exchanged Eid greetings while street vendors sold colorful balloons and toys to children posing for photos with their parents.

"Our celebration is doubled after Assad's fall," said Ghassan Youssef, a resident of the capital.

A few kilometers (miles) away, on the slopes of Mount Qasyun overlooking Damascus -- a site previously off-limits to Syrians until Assad was deposed on December 8 -- a few thousand people gathered at Unknown Soldier Square for an open-air prayer.

Among them were members of the security forces and the army, dressed in uniform and armed. The road leading to the square was packed, according to an AFP photographer.

Some worshippers distributed sweets to celebrate, while the three-star Syrian flag, adopted by the new authorities, waved in the air.

Under the previous government, access to the Unknown Soldier monument was typically restricted to Assad and his close associates, who would lay wreaths there during national ceremonies.

'Celebration of celebrations!'
The memorial, where a giant screen broadcast the Eid prayer, is near the presidential palace.

There, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa prayed alongside Syria's new mufti Osama al-Rifai and several cabinet ministers in the presence of a large crowd.

He later delivered a speech emphasizing the country faced "a long and arduous road to reconstruction but possesses all the resources needed to recover".

This came two days after the formation of a new government, which faces daunting challenges in a country devastated by 14 years of civil war.

Wael Hamamiya, who had been in Sweden since the early days of the conflict, returned to Damascus to celebrate Eid with his family.

"This is my first Eid here in nearly 15 years. I truly feel the celebration in its full meaning," he told AFP, beaming.

"Everyone who has come is over the moon. This is the celebration of celebrations!"

The occasion was more somber for some Syrians, who were able to visit the graves of loved ones that had been off-limits during Assad reign, especially in former opposition strongholds.

At al-Rawda Cafe in Damascus, 36-year-old Amer Hallaq chatted with friends after returning from exile in Berlin where he ended up after dodging compulsory military service in 2014.

"For years, I thought I'd never see my family again or celebrate Eid with them," Hallaq said.

"The joy of liberation and victory is immense, but there's still a lot of work ahead. This is only the beginning of the road."