Voices have been raised in the pro-regime villages of Kefraya and Foua in the Idleb countryside, blaming Russia and the regime for making them leave for other regime areas as part of an agreement with rebel groups.
Comments on news pages for the two towns revealed a large amount of anger at what was described as “the regime and Russia’s humiliation” of them after they waited for years in the hope that regime forces would come and break the siege imposed by rebel groups on the two towns.
The pro-regime Kefraya and Foua News Network on its Facebook page sharply attacked Russia, saying: “Screw you and your centers, no one wants to remove us from our homes but you.” This came against the backdrop of the Russian Foreign Ministry announcing it was establishing shelter centers for Syrian refugees.
It added in another post: “Russia displaced us and made us new shelter centers in Homs… oh what a joy for us.”
Others commented: “Russia has been playing a big game claiming to defend Syria, but now it’s out in the open.” One said: “Russia is the one making the decisions and everyone else implements them … we don’t get anything from them except deception and in the end they achieve their interests.”
This morning dozens of buses began to enter into Kefraya and Foua to transport regime militia fighters and their families as part of the deal to bring them to regime-controlled areas.
The deal stipulates a full evacuation of the two towns’ residents in exchange for the release of hundreds of prisoners from the regime’s prisons. The residents will be taken to Aleppo and then they will be transported to wherever they choose.
Kefraya and Foua are two Shia towns in the Idleb countryside. The regime and its militias turned them into a military barracks before the Syrian opposition took control over most of Idleb province in 2015. Cities and towns that rebelled against the regime have been subjected to a heavy bombardment by artillery emplacements and snipers from inside the two towns over the years.
Residents of the two towns have also fought alongside regime forces on most of Syria’s fronts, and have not disguised their loyalty to Iran.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
