Syria's New Chapter: The Aftermath of Assad's Fall

Mon Dec 08 2025 21:03:01 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

One year after the dramatic change in Syria's leadership, the nation grapples with the challenges brought about by the fall of Bashar al-Assad. While many feel a sense of relief, new struggles emerge under the interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa.

After a year since the overthrow of Assad's regime, Syria experiences a mix of hope and turmoil. Although locals are relieved by the absence of Assad's oppressive rule, the country faces unresolved sectarian tensions and a lack of resources for reconstruction. Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa navigates a complicated landscape of international relations and domestic strife, raising questions about Syria's future stability.

A year ago, the war that President Bashar al-Assad seemed to have won was turned upside down.

A rebel force had broken out of Idlib, a Syrian province on the border with Turkey, and was storming towards Damascus. It was led by a man known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, and his militia group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

One year later, he is interim president, and Bashar al-Assad is in a gilded exile in Russia.

Syria is still in ruins. In every city and village I have visited this last 10 days, people were living in skeletal buildings gutted by war. But for all the new Syria's problems, it feels much lighter without the crushing, cruel weight of the Assads.

Sharaa has found the going easier abroad than at home. He has won the argument with Saudi Arabia and the West that he is Syria's best chance of a stable future.

In May, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia arranged a brief meeting between Sharaa and US President Donald Trump. Afterwards, Trump called him a young attractive tough guy.

At home, Syrians know his weaknesses and the problems Syria faces better than foreigners. Sharaa's writ does not run in the north-east, where the Kurds are in control, or parts of the south where Syrian Druze, another minority sect, want a separate state backed by their Israeli allies.

Despite the hope for a calmer Syria, sectarian tensions remain unresolved, and the lack of resources for rebuilding underscores the fragility of the new administration.

Umm Mohammad, a local resident, expressed her family's concerns, stating, We go to sleep and wake up afraid. As the new government struggles to promote security and stability in a war-weary nation, many await a future that feels uncertain.