A new start for Syria - 13th January 2025

This New Year was special in Damascus, Syria. On 8th December 2024, everything changed there. President Assad left Syria after he lost control.

The Assad family controlled Syria for 50 years. First, it was General Hafez al-Assad. Then, it was his son Bashar al-Assad.

From 2011, there was a civil war. More than six million Syrians left their country and 580,000 died. About half were not fighters.

Yamamah al-Ubaid feels sad and angry.

Yamamah al-Ubaid: "Today is the first day of 2025. Last year, the Syrian people witnessed an important event - the fall of the regime of Bashar al-Assad and the end of the Assad era, which lasted 54 years. However, we will not forget and we will continue to remember and demand that all officials whose hands were stained with the blood of the Syrian people be held accountable."

Who took control of Syria from the Assads? It was a group of fighters, Hayat Tahir al-Shan (HTS). In the past, HTS was part of the terrorist group al-Qaeda.

The man at the top is Ahmed al-Sharaa. He says HTS is not a terrorist group. He wants other countries to change their minds.

Some people are worried about HTS. But many hope this is a new start for Syria.

Nour Haloum: "We are now witnessing the first moments of 2025 and we hope that the country's situation will improve and its institutions will reopen. That all things become easy for citizens and we can obtain our rights. We do not want more than that, just our basic rights."

It's an important time. Syrians at home and in other countries are watching Syria. They're worried but hopeful.