site.btaUPDATED Syrians in Turkiye Rejoice at Assad's Ouster

Syrians in the Turkish capital Ankara and in many other major Turkish cities Sunday celebrated the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Syrian rebels announced the overthrow of Assad as they took control of Damascus earlier in the day, ending the rule of the Assad family after more than 13 years of civil war.

However, many Turkish citizens are worried about the spontaneous marches of Syrians in the streets of the cities. Many Turks shared their concerns on social media.

A large procession of celebrating Syrians was organized in Ankara's Altendağ municipality, said the online edition of Anadolu Gazete.  

The celebrants gathered in the Ender district (in the Altundag area), raising anti-Assad slogans and Syrian flags.

Residents of the neighbourhood who witnessed the celebrations filmed the event with their phones and shared the footage on social media. The videos, which reached a wide audience in a short time, became among the most discussed topics on social networks, and it is clear that the reactions of Turkish citizens are mixed. 

While some welcomed the celebrations, others harshly criticized the situation. 

"We are concerned that these celebrations are taking place in the streets of Turkey. They are here because of the situation in their own country, but it is not right to organize such events here," a user wrote on a social networking platform.

Others pointed out that Syrians are celebrating in the hope of a real end to a war that has lasted long years. 

Syrians celebrated all over Turkey, including in the megalopolis of Istanbul, in Bursa, Hatay, Kahramanmarash, Eskisehir, Adana, Konya, Kayseri, Kilis, Sanliurfa, the newspaper Hurriyet reported.

One of the largest demonstrations was organized in Kahramanmarash close to the border with Syria, where thousands of Syrians took to the streets in a festive procession.

Istanbul was another city that saw thousands of Syrians gather to celebrate Assad's ouster.

After the morning namaz prayer in the Syrian-populated Eyup and Esenyurt districts of the megalopolis, Syrians took to the streets en masse. People hugged, sang and danced. A large group trampled the Syrian flag and waved the flag of the opposition forces. They carried slogans that read "The hateful regime has fallen", "We are free, we will return home".

Long lines of cars formed, passing through the streets of the city waving flags and singing songs.

Officials from the Syrian consulate general in Istanbul's Sisli neighborhood took down the state flag and put the opposition flag in its place, a TV report showed.

"We are very happy. The regime has fallen, we are free. We long to return to our homeland soon," a Syrian youth born in Turkey said in front of a TV camera. He said hundreds of thousands of Syrians in Turkey are ready to return to Syria.

Along with Syrian opposition flags, Syrians were also waving the Turkish national flag, news outlets reported.   

Police took extra security measures in the areas of the demonstrations.  

Millions of Syrians have arrived in Turkiye since the civil war began in their home country in 2011.

On November 20, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that the number of Syrians in Turkey had declined to 2,935,742.

Turkey has granted Syrian asylum-seekers temporary protection status. There are also Syrians living in Turkey with temporary residence permits, as well as undocumented Syrians who are considered illegal immigrants.

According to the opposition, the number of immigrants in Turkiye is over 10 million, most of whom are Syrian and Afghan.