ALBAWABA - Syrians have taken to the streets dancing, rallying and lighting fireworks since Sunday night to celebrate the first anniversary of the fall of the Assad regime, after over 13 years of the war that was sparked against his rule.
On December 8, 2024, Bashar Assad fled Damascus to Moscow, Russia, as opposition fighters, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, who was the leader of Syria's opposition party "Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham", entered the capital, Damascus, announcing a new chapter in the Levant country.
One year ago, jails were opened, prisoners were freed, and people gathered to mark this historic event for Syria. People in diaspora, who were against Bashar Assad, were able to return home without fear of being arrested and jailed.
Ahmed al-Sharaa marks one year of the collapse of the Assad regime:
Syria's politician, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who toppled Assad and announced himself the interim President until new fair elections are organized, has joined celebrators at the Umayyad Mosque, just like what he did in 2024, to give a speech marking this historic day.
The Syria Presidency account posted photos of al-Sharaa and wrote, "Mr. President Ahmed Al-Sharaa delivered a speech on the first anniversary of the liberation of Syria, and this was after performing the dawn prayer at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, in which he expressed the feelings of pride that the Syrians experienced in the first moments of the defeat of injustice and the end of a difficult stage that the country had gone through."
The president also "praised the sacrifices and heroic deeds offered by the fighters upon their victorious entry into Damascus, affirming that safeguarding this victory and building upon it today constitutes the greatest duty incumbent upon all Syrians."
Residents gather with Syrian flags during celebrations marking one year since a lightning Islamist-led offensive that eventually toppled the country's longtime ruler, in central Hama on December 5, 2025. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
