Syria Marks One Year Since Assad's Fall

A group of professionals met at a Damascus restaurant on the anniversary of Bashar Assad's fall to discuss changes since the December 2024 collapse of his government. The new administration is led by Ahmed al Sharaa, who previously headed al Qaeda's Syrian affiliate before breaking with the group in 2016.

The government is dominated by members of Hay'at Tahrir al Sham, which had governed the Idlib region.

Nations estimates indicate nine out of ten Syrians live below the poverty line. Bread prices rose from 400 Syrian pounds to roughly ten times that amount after subsidies were reduced. Laila, a Sunni lawyer, said civil service exams have been canceled and appointments are now distributed through patronage networks.

Hussain, a Kurdish government employee, said foreign remittances that once covered monthly expenses now fall short.

March 2026, Damascus authorities restricted alcohol sales to a handful of Christian neighborhoods and banned sales in restaurants and bars citywide by June. Mixed-gender outings and coeducational schooling have been curtailed in some areas. Jannah, a lawyer from Syria's Circassian minority, said some Alawite friends began wearing the hijab out of fear.

Laila said questions about religious identity have replaced ordinary greetings in some encounters. A woman lights a candle at Mar Elias Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus. In 2025, an attacker struck the church, killing 25.