Syria jubilantly marks a year since Assad’s fall with parades – and leader makes new pledge | World News

Syrians are celebrating the primary anniversary of the overthrow of Bashar al Assad with army parades – and a recent promise to rebuild the nation.

The previous Syrian chief was toppled when rebels, commanded by Syria’s new president, Ahmed al Sharaa, seized Damascus in a lightning offensive final December.

Mr Assad fled for Russia, bringing an abrupt finish to his 24 years of rule.

Official celebrations are happening on Monday throughout the nation, and the central Umayyad Sq. in Damascus has been full of jubilant crowds.

Mr Sharaa, a Former al Qaeda commander, has been marking the event with daybreak prayers on the Umayyad Mosque within the capital, in keeping with the Syrian state information company, SANA.

Wearing army fatigues much like these he wore throughout the victorious insurgent marketing campaign, Mr Sharaa promised to rebuild Syria.

“From north to south and from east to west, God keen, we’ll rebuild a powerful Syria with a construction befitting its current and previous,” he mentioned, in keeping with SANA.

The nation is struggling to heal a yr after the Assad dynasty’s repressive 50-year reign got here to an finish.

The autumn of Mr Assad got here after 14 years of civil battle which analysts mentioned had left an estimated half 1,000,000 folks lifeless, tens of millions extra displaced, and the nation battered and divided.

In late November 2024, insurgent teams launched an offensive on the town of Aleppo.

They had been shocked when the Syrian military collapsed with little resistance, first in Aleppo, then the important thing cities of Hama and Homs, leaving the highway to Damascus open.

Mr Assad was whisked away by Russian forces, and stays in exile in Moscow.

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Crippling Western sanctions have largely been lifted, and Mr Sharaa has promised to switch Mr Assad’s brutal police state with an inclusive and simply order.

However a whole lot of individuals have been killed in bouts of sectarian violence, inflicting new displacements and growing distrust amongst minorities in direction of Mr Sharaa’s authorities.