Syrians celebrate first anniversary of Assad regime collapse in Damascus

Tens of thousands of Syrians poured into the streets of Damascus on Monday to commemorate the first anniversary of the collapse of the Assad regime.

The celebrations came a year after former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad fled the capital as rebel forces overran the country in a lightning offensive that ended five decades of Assad family rule and opened a new chapter. In the Syrian language date.

Since then, a wave of transformations and historical events has redrawn the political landscape in Syria, culminating in a diplomatic breakthrough with the United States that saw President Donald Trump Hosting interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa on an unprecedented visit to the White House.

Long term Caesar Act to protect civilians in Syriaseen as the most restrictive sanctions the United States has imposed on Syria since they were enacted in 2019, are about to be rolled back, with a full repeal written into the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

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“Every Syrian celebrates the liberation and is now celebrating the removal of the Caesar Act,” Moaz Mustafa, executive director of the Syrian Emergency Team, which helped draft and name the original bill, said in an interview with Fox News Digital.

“Caesar was destroying Syria’s economy and Syria’s future, even if everything had gone well. Now, Syria has real hope. Today, on the first anniversary of liberation, the greatest gift the Syrian people can receive is the lifting of the Caesar Act.”

The National Defense Authorization Act is scheduled to be voted on in the House of Representatives this week.

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While Syrians celebrate the overthrow of Assad, the country now faces the daunting task of rebuilding, from rebuilding and revitalizing the economy to seeking justice for families still waiting for answers about their loved ones who were forcibly disappeared by the regime.

People carry photos of their relatives who were killed or disappeared under the Assad regime during a mourning demonstration at Hejaz station in Damascus on December 27, 2024. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Data from Syrian Network for Human Rights It indicates that more than 170,000 people remain forcibly disappeared in Syria between March 2011 and August 2025, and that the vast majority of them were detained in the detention centers of the former Assad regime.

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Syria has also suffered outbreaks of sectarian violence this year, particularly in Suwayda, where Druze militias, Sunni Bedouin tribes and Syrian government forces have engaged in violent clashes.

Syrian soldiers gather near Suwayda on July 15, 2025, as black smoke rises after bloody sectarian clashes in the southern governorate. (Stringer/Getty Images)

“There have been clashes and atrocities from time to time. I note, interestingly, that this new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has put on public trial, on live television in Syria, more than a dozen members of the security forces accused of crimes.” violation of human rights, Such as extrajudicial killing, illegal detention, and torture,” former US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford said in an interview with Fox News Digital.

He added, “If they are convicted and held accountable, that would be a wonderful thing. It would be even more wonderful under the leadership of a man who was a member of Al Qaeda.”

In July, US Department of State He officially rescinded the designation of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamist group formerly led by al-Shara, as a foreign terrorist organization.

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US President Donald Trump is expected to meet with interim Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa at the White House. (Ping Guan/Pool/AFP via Getty Images; Aaron Schwartz/CNB/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump has met with Al-Sharaa, also known by the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Julani, three times since his return to the White House.

He praised the new Syrian leader despite his past and urged Israel to maintain a “strong and genuine dialogue” with Damascus amid this. Israeli ground incursions To southern Syria.

“We are doing everything we can to make sure the Syrian government continues to do what is intended, which is essential, to build a real, prosperous country,” Trump said in a post published by Truth Social in December.

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“It is extremely important that Israel maintains a strong and genuine dialogue with Syria, and that nothing happens that would hinder Syria’s development into a prosperous country.”

Pictures of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are displayed in the window of a cafe in Damascus on December 7, 2025. (Hussein Al-Mulla/AFP)

Al-Sharaa called on the Russian government early this year to hand over Assad – who was granted asylum in Moscow – to face justice for the atrocities he committed during his time in power.

MP Joe Wilson, RSC, is a long-standing advocate for the Syrian people and a member of House Foreign Affairs CommitteeFox News Digital said in a statement that the time has come for a new era in Syria.

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Wilson said: “The progress we have seen over the year since the fall of dictator Assad is incredible. Syria has transformed from a puppet of Putin and an ally of the Iranian regime to a partner of the United States, joining the coalition against ISIS and removing Hezbollah, Al Qaeda and ISIS. Under the leadership of Ambassador Tom Barrack, under President Trump, we have seized a historic opportunity by supporting the efforts of President Shara and lifting the stifling sanctions on Syria.”

He added, “There is progress to be made, but in the absence of these bold and visionary moves to give Syria a chance, the country will slide into factional chaos that terrorists will exploit.” “Syria has a rich, multi-ethnic and religious pluralistic history. The people have suffered more than half a century under Assad’s sadistic socialist rule.”