Since the beginning of the Syrian revolution in the spring of 2011, the first slogan raised by Syrians was "Freedom and Dignity." The protests were peaceful, demanding human rights and political reforms, but the regime’s response was brutal. They used excessive violence against their own people, turning the revolution from a peaceful movement into an armed conflict. The slogan "Asad for eternity" continued to echo from the mouths of his soldiers as they tried to cement the regime by force, as they always had.
The revolution began in the heart of Syrian cities and quickly spread across the country. As repression increased, the conflict turned into a bloody and widespread war, with Idlib in northwestern Syria becoming the last stronghold of the opposition. Mass displacement was not a choice; it was forced. The regime and its allies carried out demographic change, emptying regions of their residents and forcing them into Idlib.
Idlib, which was once a land of hope for freedom, became a refuge for the displaced, filled with tents of refugees. Despite the harsh conditions, hope remained alive in their hearts. The daily bombardment from Russian and Syrian warplanes relentlessly hit homes, hospitals, and markets, leaving hundreds dead and thousands injured. Between 2011 and 2024, the death toll exceeded 500,000, according to reports. More than 6.5 million people were displaced internally, most of them to Idlib, while around 5.5 million others fled to neighboring countries and camps in Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan, becoming homeless in dire conditions.
Despite these circumstances, the Syrian people did not give up. The free people of Idlib continued to resist humiliation and stood firm against injustice. On November 27, 2024, the "Deterrence of Aggression" battle began in Idlib, marking a turning point in the revolution. After several days of intense battles, the Syrian regime began to collapse, losing cities one after another, until the decisive moment arrived on December 8, 2024, when Damascus was liberated, and the tyrant fled.
But Syria, which had endured so much pain, remained alive. With the fall of the tyrant, hope was restored to a people who had withstood years of war, ready to rebuild a new nation, free from oppression and tyranny, a nation where freedom was greater than any tyrant.
crying
A woman mourns outside the hospital after an airstrike killed several people including children during an airstrike on a camp for internally displaced people in Maarat Misreen north of Idlib
Killing journalists
Colleagues and friends mourn over the body of Syrian photographer Anas Alkharboutli 32 in Idlib Syria Wednesday Dec 4 2024 Alkharboutli working for the German news agency DPA was killed in an airstrike near the city of Hama
air raid
A man tries to put out a fire caused by a Russian airstrike using a fire extinguisher outside a hospital complex in Idlib Syria
Attack .. The beginning of the end
Syrian insurgents ride on motorcycles through abandoned Syrian army vehicles on a road in the outskirts of Hama
The beginning of the end
A Syrian opposition fighter takes a picture of a comrade stepping on a portrait of overthrown Syrian President Bashar Assad in Aleppo
tearing up pictures of tyrants
A Syrian opposition fighter tears a painting depicting Syria s overthrown President Bashar Assad and his late father Hazef Assad at Aleppo International Airport in Aleppo
Assad's soldiers surrender
Government soldiers and allies sit on the ground as they are taken into custody by opposition fighters on the road between Homs and Damascus near Homs Syria on Sunday Dec 8 2024 He turned the remnants of war into a market for life
He turned the remnants of war into a market for life
A Syrian man sells vegetables in front of a damaged tank in Homs Anti-regime forces launched a lightning offensive that took Damascus ousting President Bashar al-Assad and bringing an end to five decades of Baathist rule in Syria
People are searching for their missing relatives and loved ones.
People search among the photos for their missing sons in the prisons of the defunct Syrian regime
A celebration of a different kind
Two Syrian fighters watch revelers dancing during Christmas celebrations early Sunday after the ouster of the Assad regime
People celebrate
Confetti and flowers are dropped from a military helicopter onto a crowd during a celebration marking the 10th anniversary of the victory of rebel forces over Bashar al-Assad s army in Idlib Syria Friday March 28 2025
The End
A statue of the late Syrian President Hafez Assad which was toppled and defaced during the uprising that overthrew the Assad regime last December lies in ruins atop a mountain in Dayr Atiyah Syria Sunday Jan 5 2025