Damascus streets adorned with Syrian flags and revolutionary songs for first anniversary celebration in 14 years amid tight security measures.
Civilians were seen waving Syrian flags and singing revolutionary songs on Saturday under tight security.
“These roses symbolise peace; for 14 years, helicopters have dropped barrel bombs on people. Now, symbolically, roses are being thrown to represent peace and reconciliation,” said Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar from Damascus.
The unrest that began on March 15, 2011, was sparked by protests demanding democratic reforms and the release of political prisoners as part of the Arab Spring. The demonstrations followed the arrest and torture of teens over graffiti criticizing al-Assad in Deraa.
A violent government crackdown ensued, leading to the formation of the Free Syrian Army by military defectors in July 2011, turning the unrest into a devastating civil war. The conflict concluded with the fall of the regime following a successful opposition campaign led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
HTS’s leader and interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa now faces the challenge of organizing elections within five years while addressing sectarian violence, Israeli airstrikes, territorial disputes, and an economic crisis.
During the celebrations on Saturday, an explosion in the coastal city of Latakia resulted in at least three deaths and 12 injuries, as reported by the state news agency SANA. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights later attributed the blast to an accident caused by a resident attempting to dismantle unexploded ordnance.
Latakia and Tartous recently endured the heaviest fighting since al-Assad’s fall, with the Syrian government having ended an operation in those coastal areas after four days of conflict between security forces and pro-al-Assad fighters, resulting in hundreds of fatalities.
