Parades and prayers: Syrians celebrate year of “liberation”
Shafaq News – Damascus
On Monday, Syrians across multiple provinces marked the first anniversary of the fall of the Al-Assad regime, holding large-scale official and public events in major cities.
Damascus, Latakia, Homs, Hama, Suwayda, Deir Ez-Zor, Daraa,
and others witnessed activities including national artistic performances and
symbolic marches, featuring banners reading “One Year of Liberation” and “The
New Syria.”
Syrian transitional President Ahmad Al-Sharaa joined senior officials and large crowds of worshippers at the Umayyad Grand Mosque. He later delivered a speech reaffirming his commitment to rebuilding “a unified and strong Syria,” adding that reconstruction would be “worthy of its ancient civilization and grounded in justice for all people.”
The Ministry of Defense organized military parades in
Damascus, Homs, Aleppo, Latakia, Hama, Idlib, and Deir Ez-Zor, including an
aerial show in the capital that featured fourteen parachutists of different
nationalities over Umayyad Square. Damascus also saw low-altitude flights by
military jets and helicopters above several main squares, in a symbolic display
of air force presence accompanying the public celebrations.
In the northeast, the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration
of North and East Syria (AANES) banned public gatherings and social events,
citing security conditions and the “increased activity of terrorist cells”.
Bashar Al-Assad left Syria after Damascus fell to opposition forces led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, with Moscow later confirming it had granted him and his family asylum under a transition arrangement.
Read more: Syria's post-Assad landscape: The battle for power and the future of a fractured nation
