DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Thousands of Syrians poured into the streets and public squares on Saturday to mark the 14th anniversary of the start of the country’s civil war for the first time since Bashar Assad was swept from power.
Crowds waved Syrian flags and chanted in celebration of the rebel victory that ended the Assad family's five-decade rule in rallies in the capital, Damascus, the country’s largest city of Aleppo in the north, and Idlib, where the rebels launched their offensive in November.
A poster reading “15/3/2025, same date but we are now victorious” was carried by a man at Damascus’ Umayyad Square as helicopter gunships dropped flowers on those gathered.
Until recently, the helicopters were used by forces loyal to Assad to drop barrel bombs on areas held by his opponents. By releasing flowers, the country’s new authorities want to send a message.
“Today, helicopters are gifting you hope instead of pain, peace instead of fear,” read a paper in Arabic tied to a flower that was dropped over Umayyad Square.
Yaman al-Ali said he came to celebrate the victory of “the revolution” that she has backed since 2011. “My feeling, of course, is incredibly, incredibly, incredibly great. First, because we have overthrown Bashar Assad. Of course, we are demanding his execution, not just his overthrow.”
“Today, by the grace of God, we have come to express our joy in victory,” said Lamyaa al-Doueish. “This is the first year, after 14 years, that God has blessed us with victory.”
Syria’s conflict started as one of the popular uprisings against Arab dictators known as the 2011 Arab Spring, before Assad crushed the largely peaceful protests and a civil war erupted. Half a million people have been killed and more than 5 million left the country as refugees.
In November, insurgent groups led by the Islamist Islamic Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, began a ground offensive that within days captured the country’s four largest cities starting with Aleppo in the north, then Hama and Homs in central Syria. On Dec. 8, the insurgents marched into Damascus, marking the end of the Assad family's 54-year rule that was considered one of the most brutal in the region. Assad fled to Russia, his main ally.
The country’s new authorities led by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa have faced serious obstacles. Just days before Saturday's anniversary, clashes between fighters loyal to Assad and forces of the country’s new rulers sparked the worst violence since the civil war, leaving about 1,000 dead, most of them members of Assad's Alawite minority community.
Earlier this week, the interim government signed a deal with the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast, and days later al-Sharaa signed a temporary constitution that leaves Syria under Islamist rule while promising to protect the rights of all Syrians for five years during a transitional phase.
After Assad’s fall, the vast majority of Syrians still live in poverty and Syrian officials and regional countries have been calling on Western countries to lift sanctions imposed more than a decade ago.
The United States and Europe have been hesitant to lift the sanctions before there is a clear political transition that is democratic and inclusive of Syria’s minorities and civil society. At the same time, Syria desperately needs money to rebuild after years of war.
An explosion on Saturday at a hardware store in a four-story building in Syria’s coastal city of Latakia killed two people and wounding seven others, the Syrian Civil Defense said, adding that search operations are ongoing for those missing. The cause of the blast was not immediately clear.
Mroue reported from Beirut.
A Syrian army helicopter throws flowers and confetti on a group of demonstrators marking the 14th anniversary of the start of the uprising against Bashar Assad's regime in March 2011, in Umayyad square, Damascus, Syria, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Syria's interim president Ahmad Al-Sharaa, center, prepares to sign a temporary constitution for the country in Damascus, Syria, Thursday March 13, 2025. At left, is Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shiban. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
