• By Dec. 8, opposition fighters entered Damascus, prompting Assad and senior military officials to flee the country with their families

• Symbols of Baath rule were torn down, notorious torture centers were shut, and a new political era began

BEIRUT, Lebanon

One year has passed since opposition forces seized the Syrian capital Damascus on Dec. 8, 2024, bringing an end to the Baath Party’s 61-year rule and marking a turning point in the country’s 13-year uprising.

What began in March 2011 with a group of schoolchildren spray-painting “Next, it's your turn, doctor (Bashar Assad)" on a wall in the southern province of Daraa grew into a nationwide revolution.

The movement culminated last year when Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied opposition factions launched a sweeping military campaign that toppled the Assad regime.

The opposition’s final operation, which started on Nov. 27, 2024, rapidly broke through frontlines in northern Aleppo and Idlib before advancing on Hama and Homs – two provinces forming the main corridor to the capital.

As opposition groups tightened their grip on the central region, regime military units saw mass defections.

Many soldiers surrendered or fled as the opposition gained momentum with significant support from local communities.

By Dec. 8, opposition fighters entered Damascus, prompting Assad and senior military officials to flee the country with their families.

Symbols of Baath rule were torn down, notorious torture centers were shut, and a new political era began.

A new leadership

The opposition groups announced the formation of a transitional governing structure. Ahmed al-Sharaa was declared the country’s new president.

HTS and the Syrian National Army (SNA) were integrated under a unified command to form the core of the new Syrian military. The Baath Party, regime parliament, and all regime security institutions were formally dissolved.

On Oct. 5, Syria held its first People’s Assembly elections since the fall of the regime.

Due to widespread displacement, missing civil records, and the destruction caused by the civil war, elections were conducted not through direct nationwide voting but through representative electoral councils established in government-held areas.

Return of Syrian refugees accelerates

Following the regime’s collapse, voluntary returns of Syrians from neighboring countries increased significantly.

Türkiye's Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Nov. 1 that 550,000 Syrians had returned home voluntarily after Dec. 8, 2024.

The UN refugee agency also reported on Dec. 4 that 378,000 Syrian refugees had returned from Lebanon in 2025.

Rebuilding ties with world

Over the past year, Syria’s new government has intensified diplomatic efforts to restore the country’s international standing and seek the removal of sanctions imposed during the Assad era.

Several countries – starting with Türkiye – reopened their embassies in Damascus. The Turkish flag was raised again at the Turkish Embassy on Dec. 14, 2024.

A major breakthrough came on May 13, 2025, when US President Donald Trump, during a visit to Saudi Arabia, announced plans to lift US sanctions on Syria, citing consultations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The EU followed on May 21 by lifting economic sanctions imposed since 2011. President Sharaa was subsequently removed from US and UN sanctions lists.

On Nov. 10, the US Treasury also suspended penalties under the 2019 Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act.

PKK/YPG terror group banned celebrations marking fall of Assad regime

Despite signing an agreement with the new Syrian administration in March, the PKK/YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continue to hold areas east of the Euphrates and two neighborhoods in Aleppo.

The terror group has delayed implementing its obligations and banned celebrations marking the anniversary of the Baath regime’s fall in territories under its control, citing “security concerns.”

Israel expands occupation

After Assad’s fall, Israel sharply increased its military activity in Syria.

According to the Syrian authorities, Israel carried out over 1,000 airstrikes across the country in the past year and expanded its occupation beyond the Golan Heights, seizing an additional 800 square kilometers of Syrian territory.

Chronology of final offensive (Nov. 27 - Dec. 8, 2024)

Nov. 27:

Opposition forces launch a large-scale offensive in western rural Aleppo.

Nov. 28:

Fighters push to within 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) of Aleppo’s outer neighborhoods.

Nov. 29:

Opposition captures the strategic town of Saraqib in Idlib and begins entering central Aleppo.

Nov. 30:

Following the fall of Aleppo, opposition forces liberate Maarat al-Numan, Khan Shaykhun, and Jarjanaz, securing control across Idlib and advancing toward Hama.

Dec. 1:

SNA launches “Dawn of Freedom” operation against PKK/YPG terror group in Tel Rifaat, gaining full control of the town center.

Dec. 2-4:

Opposition groups seize dozens of villages in Hama, breaking regime defenses.

Dec. 5:

Hama city center falls to opposition forces.

Dec. 6-7:

Rastan and Talbiseh are captured, paving the way to Homs city center, which falls the next day.

Southern groups begin advancing into Damascus’ suburbs, while local Druze factions secure full control of Sweida.

Dec. 8, 2024:

Assad flees to Moscow, and the Baath regime collapses as Damascus falls. Prisoners held in the infamous Saydnaya Prison are freed.