On Monday, the streets of Damascus were teeming with tens of thousands of Syrians celebrating the first anniversary of the fall of the Assad regime.
This commemoration marked one year since former dictator Bashar al-Assad abandoned the capital as rebel forces rapidly advanced, bringing an end to five decades of Assad family rule and ushering in a new era for Syria.
Since then, Syria has undergone significant transformations, including a historic diplomatic breakthrough with the United States. This led to an unprecedented visit by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa to the White House, hosted by President Donald Trump.
The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, once considered the toughest U.S. sanctions on Syria since its introduction in 2019, is now poised for repeal. The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes provisions for its full removal.
Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, who was instrumental in drafting the original bill, expressed his optimism in an interview with Fox News Digital. “Every Syrian is celebrating not just liberation but also the removal of the Caesar Act,” he said.
“The Caesar Act was a significant barrier to Syria’s economic recovery and future,” Moustafa continued. “Now, with the anniversary of our liberation, lifting this act is the greatest gift the Syrian people could receive, offering true hope for the future.”
The NDAA is slated for a vote in the House this week.
As Syrians celebrate the overthrow of Assad, the country now faces the daunting task of rebuilding, from reconstruction and revitalizing the economy to seeking justice for families still waiting for answers about loved ones forcibly disappeared by the regime.
People hold portraits of relatives killed or disappeared under the Assad regime during a mourning demonstration at Hijaz Station in Damascus on Dec. 27, 2024. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
Data from the Syrian Network for Human Rights indicate that more than 170,000 people remain forcibly disappeared in Syria between March 2011 and August 2025, an overwhelming majority of whom were held in former Assad regime detention centers.
Syria has also grappled with outbreaks of sectarian violence this year, most notably in Sweida, where Druze militias, Sunni Bedouin tribes and Syrian government forces engaged in violent clashes.
Syrian soldiers assemble near Sweida on July 15, 2025, as black smoke rises following deadly sectarian clashes in the southern province. (Stringer/Getty Images)
“There have been occasional clashes and atrocities. I note, and it’s interesting, that this new President Ahmed al-Sharaa has put on trial, publicly, on live television in Syria, more than a dozen security force members who are charged with violating human rights, such as extrajudicial killing and illegal detention and torture,” said former U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“If they are convicted and held accountable, that will be remarkable. All the more remarkable under the presidency of a man who used to be in al Qaeda.”
In July, the U.S. State Department formally revoked the foreign terrorist organization designation of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamist group formerly led by al-Sharaa.
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to meet with Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House. (BING GUAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images; Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump has met al-Sharaa, who is also known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, three times since returning to the White House.
He has praised Syria’s new leader despite his past and urged Israel to maintain a “strong and true dialogue” with Damascus amid Israeli ground incursions into southern Syria.
“We are doing everything within our power to make sure the Government of Syria continues to do what was intended, which is substantial, in order to build a true and prosperous Country,” said Trump in a December Truth Social post.
“It is very important that Israel maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria, and that nothing takes place that will interfere with Syria’s evolution into a prosperous State.”
Wanted-style portraits of former Syrian President Bashar Assad are displayed in a coffeeshop window in Damascus on Dec. 7, 2025. (Hussein Malla/AP)
Al-Sharaa called on the Russian government earlier this year to hand over Assad — who was granted asylum in Moscow — to face justice for atrocities committed during his time in power.
Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., a longtime advocate for the Syrian people and a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Fox News Digital in a statement that it’s time for a new era in Syria.
“The progress we’ve seen in the year since the fall of dictator Assad is incredible. Syria has transformed from a Putin puppet and Iranian regime ally to a partner of the United States, joining the coalition against ISIS and removing Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, and ISIS. Led by Ambassador Tom Barrack, under President Trump, we have seized an historic opportunity by supporting the efforts of President al-Sharaa and lifting crippling sanctions on Syria,” said Wilson.
“There is progress to be made, but absent these bold and visionary actions to give Syria a chance, the country would descend into factionalized chaos to be exploited by terrorists,” he said. “Syria has a rich, multi-ethnic, and religiously pluralistic history. The people suffered over half a century under sadistic socialist Assad.”
