Syrians commemorate uprising anniversary for first time since Assad's fall

Syrians gathered on Saturday to commemorate the 14th anniversary of their uprising with a public demonstration in Damascus for the first time since president Bashar al-Assad was toppled.

The rally in Damascus's Umayyad Square was the first in the capital after years of repression under Assad, during which the square was the sole preserve of the ousted president's supporters.

Activists called on people to hold similar demonstrations in the major cities of Homs, Idlib and Hama under the slogan "Syria is victorious".

Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani hailed the anniversary, saying on X: "We will remain indebted to the first cry of freedom, which erupted in Daraa, the cradle of the Syrian revolution, and spread to all cities. We will remain loyal to the great sacrifices made by our people over more than 14 years."

By the afternoon, dozens of people had gathered in Umayyad Square, amid a heavy security presence and with military helicopters overhead dropping leaflets bearing the slogan "there is no room for hate among us".

Security forces were stationed at all entrances to the square, with some of them handing out flowers to demonstrators while speakers blared revolutionary and Islamic songs.

Many of the demonstrators waved the Syrian flag -- officially changed from one used under Assad to the design from the independence era -- and held signs reading "the revolution has triumphed".

"What is happening now is a dream we never dared to imagine," said one of the demonstrators, Hanaa al-Daghri, 32.

"I left Damascus 12 years ago because I was wanted, and I would have never had any hope of returning were it not for the liberation," she told AFP.

"We are missing many friends who are no longer with us, but their bloodshed brought us to where we are today."

Abdul Moneim Nimr, 41, was with a group of friends singing and dancing in the sunshine.

"We used to celebrate the anniversary of the revolution in northern Syria and today we are celebrating in Umayyad Square. This is a blessed victory," he said.

The celebrations were expected to pick up again in the evening, following the iftar meal that breaks the daytime fast observed during Ramadan.

- 'Justice, dignity and peace' -

The Syrian conflict began with peaceful demonstrations against Assad's government on March 15, 2011, in which thousands took part. It later spiralled into civil war after he bloodily suppressed the protests.

Ahmed al-Sharaa, who headed the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) which spearheaded the lightning offensive that toppled on December 8, has since been named interim president.

Hundreds gathered in the rebels' longtime stronghold of Idlib to mark the anniversary, an AFP journalist reported.

"This revolution endured very difficult days, we felt hopeless and disappointed, but thankfully God blessed us with this victory after 14 years," demonstrator Anas Khatib told AFP.

On Thursday, Sharaa signed into law a temporary constitution regulating a five-year transition before a permanent constitution is promulgated.

Analysts have criticised the declaration, saying it grants too much power to Sharaa and fails to provide sufficient protection to the country's minorities.

Its adoption came a week after Syria's Mediterranean coast, the heartland of Assad's Alawite minority, was gripped by the worst wave of violence since his overthrow.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, security forces and allied groups killed at least 1,500 civilians, mainly Alawites, in the violence that began on March 6.

The United Nations special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said on Friday: "It is fourteen years since Syrians took to the streets in peaceful protest, demanding dignity, freedom and a better future.

"And they now deserve a transition that is worthy of this."

Pedersen called for "an immediate end to all violence and for protection of civilians".

In a statement marking the anniversary, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Council in the northeast renewed its objections to the interim constitution, saying it "did not adequately reflect the aspirations of the Syrian people to build a just and democratic state".