US envoy to Syria hails 1st anniversary of Assad’s fall as 'new chance for peace, unity'

By Laith Al-jnaidi and Rania Abu Shamala

DAMASCUS/ ISTANBUL (AA) - US envoy to Damascus Tom Barrack on Monday congratulated the Syrian people on the fall of the Bashar al-Assad’s regime, describing the anniversary as “a new chance for peace, unity and prosperity.”

“To every Syrian - Sunni, Alawite, Kurd, Christian, Druze, Arab, Turkmen, Circassian, and all who call this ancient land home - after so many years of pain, today we celebrate your shared hope rising again,” Barrack said on US social media company X.

He said the occasion represents “a new chance for peace, unity, and prosperity,” stressing in his address to Syrians that “the future belongs to all of you.”

Syrian provinces, including Damascus, its countryside, Daraa, Hama, Aleppo, and Idlib, witnessed military parades with large public participation to mark the anniversary of Assad’s fall.

“From its north to its south, and from its east to its west, God willing, we will restore Syria strong again with a rebuilding worthy of its present and its past – a rebuilding worthy of Syria’s ancient heritage,” Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa said in comments after performing the dawn prayer at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.

Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia last December, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963. Sharaa’s new transitional administration was formed in January.