Syrians mark 14th anniversary of civil war uprising by celebrating the ouster of Bashar Assad

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Syrians mark 14th anniversary of civil war uprising by celebrating the ouster of Bashar Assad

2025-03-16 00:24 Last Updated At：00:31

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.

Kirsty Coventry elected IOC president and is first woman, first African to lead global Olympic body

2025-03-20 23:38 Last Updated At：23:41

COSTA NAVARINO, Greece (AP) — Kirsty Coventry has been elected president of the International Olympic Committee and become the first woman and first African to get perhaps the biggest job in global sports.

The Zimbabwe sports minister and two-time Olympic swimming gold medalist got a stunning first-round win in the seven-candidate contest after voting by nearly 100 of her colleagues in the IOC membership on Thursday.

She gets an eight-year mandate into 2033.

It was the most open and hard-to-call IOC presidential election in decades with no clear front-runner before the vote. Many predicted an absolute majority could take several rounds of votes to secure.

Coventry’s win also was a victory for outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach, who has long been seen as promoting her as his successor. He did not use his right to vote.

“I will make all of you very, very proud and hopefully extremely confident in the decision you have taken,” Coventry said in her acceptance speech. “Now we have got some work together.”

Walking to the podium, she was congratulated and kissed on both cheeks by Juan Antonio Samaranch, who was her expected closest rival in the vote.

Also in the race were four presidents of sports governing bodies: Track and field's Sebastian Coe, skiing's Johan Eliasch, cycling’s David Lappartient, and gymnastics' Morinari Watanabe. Also contending was Prince Feisal al Hussein of Jordan.

Coventry will formally replace her mentor Bach on June 23 — officially Olympic Day — as the 10th IOC president in its 131-year history. Bach reached the maximum 12 years in office.

Key challenges for the 41-year-old Coventry will be steering the Olympic movement through political and sporting issues toward the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, including engaging in diplomacy with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Coventry’s IOC will also need to find a host for the 2036 Summer Games which could go to India or the Middle East.

AP Olympics at https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games