Sawt Falasteen - Tens of thousands celebrate as Syria marks one year since Assad's ouster

Sharaa's Islamist-led alliance launched a lightning offensive in late November last year and took Damascus on December 8 after nearly 14 years of war, ending more than five decades of Assad family rule.

The war, which erupted in 2011 with the then-government's brutal crackdown on democracy protests, killed more than half a million people and displaced millions from their homes.

Jubilant crowds thronged the streets of the capital, many people waving Syrian flags, AFP correspondents said, after mosques in the Old City began the day broadcasting celebratory prayers at dawn.

"What happened over the past year seems like a miracle," said Iyad Burghol, 44, a doctor, noting major developments including President Donald Trump's embrace of Sharaa, a former jihadist who once had a US bounty on his head.

After years of war and economic crisis, people need basics like electricity "but the most important thing to me is civil peace", Burghol told AFP.

Sharaa has made progress abroad like restoring Syria's international standing and winning sanctions relief, but he faces major challenges at home including gaining people's trust, guaranteeing security, rebuilding institutions and keeping his fractured country united.

"The current phase requires the unification of efforts by all citizens to build a strong Syria, consolidate its stability, safeguard its sovereignty, and achieve a future befitting the sacrifices of its people," Sharaa said following dawn prayers at Damascus's famous Umayyad Mosque.

He was wearing military garb as he did when he entered the capital a year ago.

- Refugee returns -

Military personnel marched in Damascus as helicopters flew overhead with Sharaa and several ministers in attendance, state media reported. Parades and large celebrations were also held in other major cities including Aleppo.

Sharaa is expected to speak later Monday.

Humanitarian worker Ghaith Tarbin, 50, noted the government had worked hard to rehabilitate Syria's foreign ties.

He expressed hope it would now also focus on domestic issues and "prioritise civil peace" after years of war laid waste to swathes of the country.

In October, the World Bank said Syria's post-war reconstruction could cost up to $216 billion.

Authorities have announced major investment deals including for infrastructure but most Syrians are yet to see major improvements.

The United Nations refugee agency said Monday more than three million Syrians had returned home from neighbouring countries or internally but said "increased funding is urgently needed to scale up recovery and reconstruction".

Tens of thousands of people are still missing, many after disappearing into the former government's prisons, with families awaiting justice for Assad-era atrocities.

Multi-confessional Syria's fragile transition has also been shaken by sectarian massacres in the country's Alawite coastal heartland and deadly clashes in Druze-majority Sweida in the south.

Authorities announced probes after some government forces or allies were implicated in the violence, deepening divisions.

- Healing rifts -

Security remains a persistent problem, and critics have accused the new authorities of marginalising minorities and failing to protect them, while some have called for decentralisation or self-determination.

Amnesty International said "the new government's response to serious violations committed since they came to power... will be a litmus test of its commitment to pursuing justice and accountability".

Human Rights Watch said the authorities "have taken positive steps on justice, transparency, and rights but failed to prevent continued violence and atrocities".

In a statement, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that "what lies ahead is far more than a political transition; it is the chance to rebuild shattered communities and heal deep divisions" and forge a nation where all Syrians "can live securely, equally, and with dignity".

But not everybody was celebrating on Monday.

An AFP correspondent said shops were shut in and around the coastal city of Jableh after a prominent Alawite spiritual leader had urged members of the religious minority -- to which the Assads belong -- to boycott the celebrations in protest against the "oppressive" new authorities.

In the country's Kurdish-held northeast, authorities announced a ban on public gatherings on Monday, citing security concerns.

Under a March deal, the Kurdish administration was to integrate its institutions into the central government by year-end, but progress has stalled.

Israeli military operations and demands for a demilitarised zone in southern Syria are further challenges, despite ongoing negotiations between the two countries to address the security concerns of both sides.

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V.AbuAwwad--SF-PST