Syria Marks One Year Since Assad’s Fall Amid Ongoing Turmoil

By Staff, Agencies

Syria held a major military parade in Damascus on Monday to mark the first anniversary of the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa led commemorations with dawn prayers at the Umayyad Mosque, vowing to rebuild the country “from north to south and from east to west.”

Armed opposition groups toppled al-Assad on December 8, 2024, after a sustained offensive that pushed into Damascus.

But the post-Assad period has been marked by severe instability. Sectarian violence has surged in the coastal regions and in Sweida, leaving hundreds of civilians and security personnel dead.

Eastern and northeastern areas, home to a Kurdish majority, continue to experience clashes between the transitional government’s forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which reject returning to centralized rule.

Syria’s foreign policy has also shifted dramatically. The new government has opened channels with the United States and begun direct talks with the “Israeli” occupation over a potential security arrangement.

The “Israeli” occupation seized large areas of southern Syria under the pretext of protecting the Druze community in Sweida and has repeatedly attacked transitional government targets — including a strike on the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Damascus.

After al-Assad’s fall, “Israel” occupied the summit of Mount Hermon, with so-called "Security Minister" Yisrael Katz declaring there would be no withdrawal.

“Israeli” forces have since carried out extensive airstrikes on Syrian military assets, including naval units, air defenses, and other strategic equipment.