Fearful of political and battlefield developments, former Assad-era officers, personnel and Syrian Hezbollah members who fled to Lebanon after the regime’s fall are searching for safer, more stable options. For some, returning to Syria is becoming “a viable choice.” “We go to sleep hearing talk of a Syrian military intervention and wake up to the possibility of rapprochement between (Hezbollah) and the Syrian state. Either way, we lose,” said Hadi, a former Hezbollah security operative from the northern Homs countryside. His words capture the anxiety gripping Syrians linked to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Warmer rhetoric between Damascus and Beirut, combined with uncertainty over the positions of Syria’s new authorities and Hezbollah’s leadership, has fueled fears of a rapprochement that could come at their expense. Speculation is growing that Hezbollah could withdraw its protection and restrict their security activities. Syrians under the group’s protection, especially the poorest, fear becoming a “bargaining chip” in talks with Damascus. As support fades and living conditions worsen, many are looking for safe ways back to Syria or seeking refuge elsewhere. Hadi is among them. “Most Syrians can feel the hostile tone toward the new Syrian state easing,” he said. “What was once a red line — approving of any position taken by the ‘Jolani government’ — is now considered normal, as long as it does not affect the sect.” He has asked relatives in Syria to check whether he faces arrest warrants or legal complaints that could lead to his detention if he returns. Hadi worked with Hezbollah from 2013 until Bashar Assad’s government fell. Fears deepened after Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem recently praised “the Syrian leadership’s decision not to join a pincer movement with Israel by intervening militarily in Lebanon.” His comments came after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa renewed his opposition to military action against Hezbollah and backed dialogue. Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani later said during a visit to Beirut in early July that talks with Hezbollah were possible “if the interest requires it.” Abdel Razzaq, who joined Hezbollah’s security division in the Sayyida Zeinab area outside Damascus, has already sent his family back to Syria. He did so when the Israeli war in Lebanon began. He remains in Lebanon, uncertain whether to follow them or leave for another country. He is “waiting for the green light.” For anyone with a clean record, he said, “returning to Syria today is far better than living in poverty and constant fear that we will be handed over to the Lebanese state because we are here illegally.” That, he said, would mean deportation and prosecution in Syria. “Many people have completed settlement procedures and returned to normal life,” he added. Whatever happens, Abdel Razzaq believes people like him will pay the price. “Whether there is an agreement, or war and Syrian forces enter Lebanon as people keep saying, we will be the scapegoats,” he said. “Most of us live here without official papers from any UN agency or government body.” Home feels safer Zeinab, from the town of al-Zahraa in the Aleppo countryside, refused to wait for assurances. As soon as the Israeli war in Lebanon began, she pressed her husband to return to Syria because of the hardship they faced in Beirut’s southern suburbs. She said Aleppo was calm and there had been no acts of revenge. Her husband had served as a military engineering officer clearing remnants of war and “had nothing to do with combat or military operations,” she said. “After it was established that he had not fought with Bashar’s army, he completed a settlement in Aleppo and was not mistreated.” Zeinab told Asharq Al-Awsat that she had repeatedly checked the security status of relatives and acquaintances still in Lebanon. Among them was her father, who had worked as a cleaner at a Hezbollah facility in Sayyida Zeinab. He fled after the regime’s fall, fearing retaliation. No collective revenge Sources at Syria’s Interior Ministry told Asharq Al-Awsat that the state rejected collective retaliation. “The consequences of the war cannot be addressed by making women and children bear responsibility for crimes committed by adults,” the sources said. But former members of the regime’s military and security structures must regularize their status as soon as they enter Syria. Anyone found to have harmed others, taken part in actions that injured civilians or faced a personal complaint — including over property seizure, theft or similar offenses — would be detained, the sources said. They stressed that completing a settlement did not shield anyone from later personal claims or evidence of involvement in crimes against civilians. Assad’s legacy Diaa, a former officer in the Political Security Directorate, does not believe Hezbollah will hand him or other former regime personnel over to the Syrian government. But he expects pressure to grow. Hezbollah, he said, is facing rising frustration in its support base, where large numbers of Syrians have settled. The group could respond by tightening restrictions. “That is already happening,” Diaa said, citing reduced food aid, closer monitoring of former officers who were never Hezbollah members and the possible withdrawal of protection. Such steps, he said, could leave them exposed to security raids. Some former regime loyalists still “dream of returning to power” and remain active along the Syrian border, Diaa said. They continue to receive protection because they are useful to Hezbollah, he added. Most of those who fled, particularly family breadwinners, were shocked by the reality of life in Lebanon. Many are now searching for a safe route home or a way out to another country. Diaa is waiting for a visa to an Arab state. Others are seeking help from UN agencies to move to Europe, Australia or New Zealand, which they see as safer and more stable. Security expert Brigadier General Imad Shahoud said Hezbollah had never fully trusted Assad-era forces, even when it operated inside Syria. “Hezbollah did not consider Bashar Assad’s army and militias friendly forces,” he said. “Its military and security methods made that clear.” Still, Shahoud said the group was unlikely to abandon its Syrian fighters. He described them as a long-term source of leverage against Syria’s new government and a reserve force of more than 10,000 fighters living in special camps, including Khamenei Camp. Most oppose the new Syrian authorities for doctrinal and ideological reasons, he said. That, he added, could make them Hezbollah’s first line of defense and a force capable of fueling unrest and destabilizing Damascus.
