Syrian Revolution Victory Conference

The Syrian Revolution Victory Conference, officially titled the Conference for Announcing the Victory of the Syrian Revolution (), was held at the Presidential Palace in Damascus, Syria, on 29 January 2025. It was attended by the commanders of various armed revolutionary factions that fought for the Syrian opposition coalition against the deposed regime of Bashar al-Assad, with the exception of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Southern Operations Room, and groups from Suwayda. It was organized by the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham-led Syrian transitional government under ''de facto'' leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.

The meeting praised the successful Syrian Revolution which resulted in the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December 2024. In the conference, Military Operations Command spokesman Hassan Abdel Ghani announced that al-Sharaa had been appointed the president of Syria for the transitional period and laid out the new government's priorities, most of which involved eliminating traces of the deposed Ba'athist regime and rebuilding Syrian institutions.

Background

On 8 December 2024, the Assad regime collapsed during a major offensive by opposition forces. The offensive was led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and supported mainly by the Syrian National Army as part of the ongoing Syrian civil war that began with the Syrian Revolution in 2011. The capture of Damascus marked the end of the Assad family's rule, which had governed Syria as a hereditary sectarian totalitarian regime since Hafez al-Assad assumed power in 1971 following a coup d'état.

December 2024 conference

Al-Sharaa held a similar conference in Damascus in late December 2024, where various groups agreed to merge under the Defense Ministry.

Those who were present at the December conference included: Fadlallah al-Haji, the head of the National Front for Liberation, Azzam al-Gharib, the head of the Levant Front, Essam al-Buwaydhani, the head of Jaysh al-Islam, Al-Mutasim Abbas, the head of the Mu'tasim Division, Muhammad al-Dairi, the head of the Third Legion of the Syrian National Army, Saleh Amouri, a leader in the Northern Storm Brigade, Amer al Sheikh, the head of Ahrar al-Sham, Abu Saleh Tahan, the head of Jaysh al-Ahrar, Mondher Saras, the head of the Sham Legion and Abu Hatem Shakra, the head of the Liberation and Construction Movement. Al-Sharaa spoke with Essam al-Buwaydhani, the head of Jaysh al-Islam, and shook his hand, signaling a thaw in relations between the groups. Some of the rebel figures who attended that meeting, including al-Gharib and Murhaf Abu Qasra, have been appointed to either political or military positions in the new administration.

The head of the Southern Operations Room, Ahmad al-Awda, did not attend.

Objectives

During the conference, al-Sharaa gave a brief speech, outlining the transitional government's immediate priorities which included: "filling the power vacuum, maintaining civil peace, building state institutions, building and developing the economy and restoring Syria's international and regional standing."

Abdel Ghani announced that 8 December, the date of the fall of the Assad regime, would be declared a national day. He also announced "the abolition of the 2012 Syrian constitution and the suspension of all exceptional laws", "the dissolution of the People's Assembly and its committees", "the dissolution of the former regime's army and the establishment of a new army," the dissolution of the Ba'athist regime's intelligence and security apparatuses, "along with ... the militias it established", "the dissolution of the Syrian Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party and member parties of the National Progressive Front bloc", "the dissolution of all armed factions, political, and civilian revolutionary bodies, and their merger into state institutions", and the appointment of Ahmed al-Sharaa as president of Syria for the transitional period, and the formation of the Interim Legislative Council until a "permanent constitution" is approved and enacted.

Al-Sharaa was appointed president by the Syrian General Command. After his appointment as president, al-Sharaa, in his first address on 31 January 2025, stated that he would hold a "national dialogue conference" and issue a "constitutional declaration" to serve as a "legal reference" during the political transition following the dissolution of the 2012 Syrian constitution. Al-Sharaa declared that he would "pursue the criminals who shed Syrian blood and committed massacres and crimes."

Participants

Those who were present at the conference included: Amer al Sheikh, the head of Ahrar al-Sham and governor of Rif Dimashq, Ahmad Issa Sheikh, the head of the Suqour al-Sham Brigades and governor of Idlib, Azzam al-Gharib, the head of the Levant Front and governor of Aleppo, Fadlallah al-Haji, the head of the Sham Legion and chief of staff of the Syrian National Army, Sayf Abu Bakr, the head of the Turkish-backed Hamza Division, Abu Amsha, the head of the Turkish-backed Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade, Salem Turki al-Antri, the head of the US-backed Syrian Free Army, Jamil al Saleh, the head of Jaysh al-Izza and Abu Hatem Shaqra, the head of Ahrar al-Sharqiya. The Eighth Brigade from Daraa was also present. The Southern Operations Room, as well as local groups from Suwayda and the Syrian Democratic Forces, were excluded.

Groups that announced their pending dissolution included: Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, Ahrar al-Sham, Jaysh al-Izza, Jaysh al-Nasr, Ansar al-Tawhid, Sham Legion, Al-Firqah Al-Saliheyah (faction in Al-Salihiyya), Jaysh al-Ahrar, the Suqour al-Sham Brigades, Jama'at Ansar al-Islam, Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria, Liwa al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar, Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement, the Levant Front and the Syrian National Army.

Aftermath

Reactions

Al-Sharaa received congratulations from leaders of many countries, including Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Canada, Lebanon, Mauritania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates, on his appointment as the president of Syria. The United Nations maintained a neutral stance, refusing to recognize the new Syrian leadership and emphasizing the importance of the transitional phase in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254.

On 31 January 2025, the head of the Syrian Interim Government (SIG) in northern Syria, Abdurrahman Mustafa, congratulated al-Sharaa on becoming president, it was also announced that the SIG would be at the disposal of the transitional government. On 17 February, Mazloum Abdi, leader of the Kurdish-led SDF, congratulated al-Sharaa on assuming the Syrian presidency and invited him to visit northeast Syria. On 10 March, al-Sharaa signed an agreement with Abdi, integrating the SDF and its civilian administration into the Syrian state. The deadline for the merger has been set for the end of the year.

Early actions

On 30 January 2025, a day after appointing al-Sharaa as president, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani became the first head of state to visit Damascus since the fall of the Assad regime, discussing post-conflict reconstruction in Syria and other topics.

In February 2025, the transitional government deployed its forces into areas under SIG control, as the Syrian National Army started to merge with the newly formed Syrian Army and began dismantling barracks and other military infrastructure. However, the SNA is still actively fighting against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). On 2 February, al-Sharaa and foreign minister Asaad al-Shaibani visited Saudi Arabia and met with Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This was al-Sharaa's first foreign visit since the fall of the Assad regime. Later, on 4 February, al-Sharaa visited Turkey as his second foreign visit and met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

On 12 February, al-Sharaa held a phone call with Russian president Vladimir Putin, in what was the latter's first contact with a Syrian head of state since Assad's overthrow. On 17 February, al-Sharaa made his first official trip to the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus, which were once strongholds of the ousted president Bashar al-Assad. On 26 February, al-Sharaa met with King Abdullah II of Jordan in Amman during his third foreign trip.

See also

* History of Syria

References

{{Syrian civil war

2020s political conferences
2025 in the Syrian civil war
Aftermath of the fall of the Assad regime
Peace conferences
Syrian peace process