Pigeon keeper and his dog held out through 7 years of Syrian war
Naseeb was a key route for ME trade before Amman closed it after the post was overrun by rebels and sealed in April 2015; state TV resumes broadcasting to Deir Al Zour for the first time in seven years
YARMOUK: The Yarmouk district in Damascus has switched hands many times in Syria’s war: from rebels, to Daesh militants, and back to government forces. But Abu Nimr did not budge.
He has remained in his family home with his dog through bombs, siege, and fierce battles for more than seven years, raising pigeons on his roof even as people fled in droves.
Since the army clawed back the enclave around five months ago, he has helped clear heaps of rubble from the streets and repair abandoned houses.
“My siblings and I lived in this building. They’re all married. They left so their kids could go to school,” Abu Nimr told reporters in the Yarmouk Palestinian camp in the Syrian capital.
“I thought I’d stay here alone, keep an eye on the family property, and hoped things would be resolved within days. But seven years passed, God kept me patient.”
Abu Nimr, who is originally Palestinian, owned a shop selling sweets like baklawa before the conflict.
At the onset, he stored food from the empty houses of his relatives. As supplies dwindled, he often slept hungry.
“I took a decision seven years ago that weapons are not my thing. Bloodshed is not easy,” he said.
Abu Nimr, 36, did odd jobs over the years and spent time with his dog Balo. “He was my friend through the siege, and I relied on him to guard the house when I went out.”
When the fighting got too close, he would hide in the furthest room with a hammer in case he had to dig himself out.
The violence has turned his neighbourhood into a ghost town, with twisted metal and collapsed walls still blocking some streets. Others are closed off with signs warning of landmines.
By the time the last battle came this year, after scores of residents had escaped or died, only 16 people were left in his neighbourhood. But he refused to leave. “The people fled? The warplanes dropped bombs? The militants entered? It doesn’t matter.”
Now, Abu Nimr wants to bring life back to Yarmouk and hopes people will be able to return soon.
Former neighbours and residents call him from other parts of Syria or abroad, asking him to check on their homes. They send him some money to clean up and repair damages.
State employees and volunteers have opened all of the main roads, he said.
“We help with what we can.” “Praise God, now things are much better.” If not for the war, Abu Nimr believes he would be married with kids now. “If people come back and it gets better, I will re-open a sweets shop right away.”
DAMASCUS: Jordan and Syria agreed on Sunday to reopen a vital border crossing between the two countries, three years after the commercial lifeline fell to rebel Groups AND trafic was HALTED.
Israel also said on Sunday the Quneitra crossing with Syria will reopen on Monday to UN observers, four years AFTER It was Closed BECAUSE of THE IGHTING.
The Jaber crossing, known as Naseeb on the Syrian side, was a key route for Middle East trade before Amman closed it after the post was overrun by rebels and sealed in April 2015.
Jordanian government spokeswoman Jumana Ghneimat announced “the reopening on Monday of the border crossing.”
Syria’s Interior Minister Mohammed Al Shaar confirmed the border would reopen on Monday and said a joint technical committee met on the eve to discuss preparatory measures, according to Damascus’s official news agency SANA.
Rehabilitation work on roads leading up to the crossing have begun to restore trafic, SANA SAID.
The reopening comes after Syrian government troops retook their side of the crossing in July under a deal with REBEL ighters Brokered By Moscow.
The crossing was a key link not only for direct trade between the neighbouring countries but also for longer-distance transit, WHICH was A signicant source of revenue.
After seven years of civil war, Syria’s government has recaptured large swathes of territory from rebels with backing from Russia, but it still only controls around half the 19 crossing points with neighbours Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey.
STATE TV
In eastern Syria, state TV said its broadcast has returned to Deir Al Zour city, seven years after it was halted when armed groups seized control of the area.
Reopening the crossing with Jordan would bring major relief to President Bashar Al Assad’s government by restoring a much-needed gateway for Syrian exports to Arab countries. It is also expected to boost its coffers as the government is expected to collect transit fees from convoys coming from Jordan. Last month, it hiked fees for all trailers transiting through its territories.
“The Naseeb crossing is a vital lifeline for trade between the two brotherly countries Jordan and Syria through them to other Arab countries,” Ghunaimat said, according to Petra. Rebels seized the crossing in 2015, disrupting a major trade route between Syria and Jordan and Lebanon.
The two governments had earlier issued conflicting reports of when the crossing would open.
Syrian troops recaptured it in July this year after rebels reached an agreement with Russian mediators to end the violence in the southern province of Daraa and surrender the crossing.
The crossing is also vital for Syria’s neighbouring Lebanon, providing its agricultural products a route to foreign markets.
On Sunday, Israel’s military announced that the United Nations has decided to return its peacekeeping force, known As UNDOF, to THE Quneitra crossing area. The crossing will be used exclusively for UN forces, it added.
The Syrian government plans to escort media to the crossing on Monday.
Syrian forces recaptured the Quneitra area in July. Russian military police deployed in the area, including on the edge of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, setting up checkpoints in the area. Moscow said it planned to work closely with the UN force.
Israel captured the Golan Heights In THE 1967 war. THE UNDOF Deployed in the area in 1974.
Separately, Syrian state said on Sunday technicians have installed two transmitters to restore the broadcast of the terrestrial TV station and Voice of Youth radio to the eastern city of Deir Al Zour and surrounding areas for the irst time In seven years. It was THE latest in government efforts to restore normal life to areas it has recaptured from armed groups.
Government forces, aided by Russian air craft and allied militia, chased DAESH ighters out of THE City AND most of the western banks of the Euphrates river last year.
In a separate offensive that occasionally raised tensions, rival USBACKED Syrian DEFENCE Forces Fought the militants on the eastern banks of the river and along the border with Iraq. The Kurdish-led forces, backed by Us-led coalition air power, continue to battle Daesh militants in Hajin, a small pocket east of the river.