A year ago, what seemed like a victory for President Bashar al-Assad's regime was suddenly upheaved. A rebel faction broke through from Idlib, a Syrian province near the Turkish border, advancing towards Damascus, led by Abu Mohammed al-Jolani and his militia, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Jolani, using this nom-de-guerre representing his family's Golan Heights roots, which Israel annexed in 1967, is actually Ahmed al-Sharaa. Now serving as interim president, Assad resides in luxurious exile in Russia, leaving Syria still ravaged. Cities and villages alike show war’s scars, with skeletal, gutted buildings, yet the nation feels less weighed down without the Assads' oppressive rule.
Abroad, Sharaa has faced fewer obstacles, gaining support from Saudi Arabia and the West as a beacon of Syria's stabilizing future. May saw Saudi Crown Prince facilitating a brief encounter with former US President Donald Trump, who described Sharaa as a "young attractive tough guy." Inside Syria, the challenges are palpable. Sharaa’s authority doesn't stretch to the Kurdish-controlled north-east or southern regions where Syrian Druze, another minority, seek an independent state supported by Israeli allies. The Alawites, Assad's sect, residing on the coast fear re-enactments of the March massacres.
A year back, Sunni Islamists dominated Damascus and other rebel factions across Syria. Sharaa, their leader, had a controversial past with al-Qaeda in Iraq and later in the Islamic State, even facing American imprisonment. However, as he carved a niche in Syria, he severed ties and opposed both al-Qaeda and IS. Visitors to Idlib remarked on Sharaa’s shift to pragmatic governance, considering Syria’s diverse religious spectrum. Sunnis remain the majority, accompanied by Kurds, Druze, and Christians, who remember Sharaa’s jihadist history.
Last December, disbelief lingered as HTS rapidly seized Aleppo, contrasting sharply with the prolonged battle from 2012 to 2016 between rebels and Assad’s forces, which concluded with Russia's pivotal military support securing Assad's victory. My visit to once-rebel territory in Aleppo post-occupation highlighted ruinous Russian bombings, with rubble reaching first-floor balconies. However, by late 2024, Syrian government forces disbanded—both conscripts and loyalists weary of fighting for a corrupt regime that rewarded them with poverty and harshness.
Shortly after Assad fled to Russia with his family, I interviewed Syria’s triumphant leader at the presidential palace, towering over Damascus as a once perpetual reminder of the invisible gaze over its citizens.