Syria Celebrates One Year Without al-Assad

Damascus, Syria —(Map)

Yesterday, people across Syria celebrated, marking one full year after President Bashar al-Assad’s fall from power. After years of civil war, the country’s government has changed and the people are more free. But there are still many challenges ahead.

In December of 2024, after 13 years of brutal civil war, rebel forces overthrew President Bashar al-Assad and took control of Syria’s government. The fall of Mr. al-Assad was unexpected.

Yesterday, people across Syria celebrated, marking one full year after President Bashar al-Assad’s fall from power. After years of civil war, the country’s government has changed and the people are more free. But there are still many challenges ahead. Above, a celebration in Hama, Syria on December 8.

The change in government came after a long and difficult struggle. Mr. al-Assad, whose family controlled Syria for 50 years, fought hard to stay in power. His government was supported by Russia and Iran. But with Russia focused on its war in Ukraine, and Iran involved in a struggle with Israel, Mr. al-Assad’s allies were unable to help him.

Rebel groups, which had been fighting Mr. al-Assad’s government for years, finally defeated his army. The rebels took control of city after city. Finally, on December 8, 2024 they took over the capital, Damascus. Mr. al-Assad was forced to leave the country. He’s now in Russia.

Ahmad al-Sharaa, who led the rebel groups, is now temporarily acting as the country’s president. Under Mr. al-Sharaa, the new government has worked hard to improve its relationships with other countries. In November, Mr. al-Sharaa even met with US President Donald Trump.

Rebuilding these relationships is important. In the past, many countries had heavy sanctions on Syria to put pressure on Mr. al-Assad. Now most of those sanctions have been lifted. This will make life much easier for Syrian people and businesses.

But life in Syria is still very difficult. Roughly 500,000 people died during the civil war. Millions of people left the country to escape the fighting. There are still huge numbers of dangerous mines in the country. Nearly 600 people have been killed by mines in the last year.

After years of war, the country has been left in ruins. The World Bank says it will cost about $216 billion to rebuild Syria’s cities and towns. Some nearby countries have promised money, but not much help has arrived yet.

After years of war, the country has been left in ruins. The World Bank says rebuilding will cost about $216 billion. Some nearby countries have promised money, but not much help has arrived yet. Above, a project near Damascus to remove rubble left by the war. The work began only two weeks ago.

So far, most rebuilding has been done by people who can afford to repair their own buildings. Many others are still living in damaged buildings, some without running water.

Things are slowly improving. But most Syrian businesses are still struggling, and many, many people are having trouble finding work.

Syria faces other challenges, too. The country is still very divided. There are many powerful armed groups in the country, and some of them control large areas. These forces don’t always get along with the new government. In some places, these groups have formed their own governments.

There is also a lot of pressure on the government to find and punish people who worked with Mr. al-Assad.

Despite the challenges, most people are relieved that the war is over and are hopeful about the future. Mr. al-Sharaa has promised to work to improve life in Syria. In time, he hopes to bring peace and elections.

Syria’s future is still uncertain. But yesterday was a day that many chose to celebrate.