A crowd waves Syrian flags at a nighttime gathering

Video Duration 03 minutes 22 seconds play-arrow03:22

Hope, flags, fireworks as Syria starts to celebrate a year without al-Assad

By Fiona Kelliher

Published On 8 Dec 20258 Dec 2025

  • Syria is marking one year since the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad after nearly 14 years of war.
  • On December 8 last year, the rule of the Baath Party collapsed when Damascus was seized. Al-Assad fled to Russia, where he was granted asylum.