Syria marks one year since overthrow of Bashar al-Assad

DAMASCUS - Syrians marked the first anniversary of the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad and his iron-fisted rule on Monday, as the fractured nation struggles to find stability and recover after years of war.

Official celebrations are planned for the central Umayyad Square in Damascus, which has been packed with jubilant gatherings ahead of December 8, and in other parts of the country. Military parades are also expected.

Assad fled Syria for Russia a year ago as rebels commanded by Syria's new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, seized Damascus andended his rule, more than 13 years into a war that spiralled out of an uprising against Assad.

Sharaa marked the occasion by performing dawn prayers at Damascus' Umayyad Mosque, according to the official SANA news agency. He was dressed in military fatigues like those he wore during the victorious rebel campaign spearheaded by his Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, the news agency reported.

Sharaa promised to build a just and strong Syria.

"From north to south and from east to west, God willing, we will rebuild a strong Syria with a structure befitting its present and past," he said, according to SANA.

SYRIANS URGED TO RALLY IN SHOW OF UNITY

Sharaa, a former al Qaeda commander, has ushered in big changes which havereshaped Syria's foreign ties. He has forged relations with the United States, won support from Gulf Arab states and Turkey, and turned away from Assad's backers Iran and Russia. Crippling Western sanctions have largely been lifted.

Sharaa has promised to replace Assad's brutal police state with an inclusive and just order.

But hundreds of people have been killed in bouts of sectarian violence, causing new displacements and fuelling mistrust among minorities towards Sharaa's government, as he struggles to bring all Syria back under Damascus' authority.

The Kurdish-led administration that runs the northeast banned gatherings or events on security grounds, citing increased activity by "terror cells" seeking to exploit the occasion. Itcongratulated Syrians on the anniversary.

The Kurdish-led administration has sought to safeguard its regional autonomy, while in the south, some Druze - followers of a minority sect that is an offshoot of Islam - havebeen demanding independence in the southern province of Sweida since hundreds of people were killed there in July during deadly clashes with government forces.

FOUR MORE YEARS OF TRANSITION BEFORE ELECTIONS

Sharaa told attendees at a forum in Qatar over the weekend that "Syria today is living its best times," despite the bouts of violence that have taken place, promising accountability for those responsible.

He said a transitional period led by him would continue for four more years, to set up institutions, laws and a new constitution - to be put to a public vote - at which point the country would hold elections.

Sharaa wields broad powers under a temporary constitution approved in March. The authorities organised an indirect vote to form a parliament in October. But Sharaa has yet to select one third of the 210 members as per the constitution.

The Assad family, members of Syria's Alawite minority community, ruled Syria for 54 years.

The Syrian war killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions more since 2011, driving some five million into neighbouring countries as refugees.

The U.N. refugee agency said on Mondaythat some 1.2 million refugees, in addition to 1.9 million internally displaced people, had gone home since Assad was toppled, but a decline in global funding could deter others.

Syria's central bank governor, speaking at a Reuters NEXT conference last week, said the return of some 1.5 million refugees was helping the economy grow.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says humanitarian needs across Syria are acute, with some 16.5 million people needing aid in 2025.

Tom Perry/Reuters