One year after Assad’s fall, Syria faces justice delays and rising Israeli strikes

By M. Saad

DAMASCUS, Syria (MNTV) — December 8, 2025, marks one year since the fall of Damascus and the end of the Assad regime, a system that for decades stood synonymous with repression, mass imprisonment, and systematic violence against the Syrian people.

The regime’s collapse followed a lightning rebel offensive in late 2024 that shattered government defenses and transferred control to a new administration led by Ahmed al-Sharaa.

The anniversary has stirred both hope and profound anxiety among Syrians as the country attempts to rebuild while confronting painful questions of justice, security, and national sovereignty.

For many former prisoners and survivors of the old regime’s brutality, the change brought an almost unimaginable sense of relief.

Hamza Al Jazaeri, a former detainee now residing in Germany, told MNTV that the transition has unfolded more peacefully than he dared to hope.

“The challenges are immense and difficult, but considering where we came from, it still feels like a dream come true,” he said.

“The road ahead is long, but at least we have finally started walking it.”

Yet progress on accountability has lagged far behind the expectations of those who suffered most.

Transitional justice and accountability

In recent months, the new authorities have established a National Commission for Transitional Justice and a National Commission for the Missing, both charged with investigating abuses under the former regime, documenting forced disappearances, and offering reparations and support to victims’ families.

But survivors argue the new mechanisms do not go nearly far enough.

“This is the most sensitive issue for Syrians,” Al Jazaeri said. “When people see those who committed mass crimes walking free, it deepens mistrust. Without real accountability, the wounds will never heal.”

Security analyst Dr. Talha Abdulrazaq, while speaking to MNTV, warned that the widening gap between promise and delivery risks undermining public faith in the new government.

“One year on, there have not been any high-profile trials,” he said. “Many individuals from the old security apparatus have been quietly reintegrated in the name of stability. That may make sense tactically in the short term, but it carries a heavy cost in legitimacy.”

Dr. Anas Altikriti, CEO of the Cordoba Foundation, a U.K.-based research and advisory group, acknowledged the cautious approach is imperfect but said it reflects the fragility of a state still struggling to rebuild from the ground up.

“Justice must form an integral part of reconstruction, but it has to be handled carefully,” he said to MNTV.

“Dismantling the old apparatus and building transitional mechanisms represents genuine progress. The key is to ensure the process continues and is not quietly abandoned.”

The result is a precarious balance: victims demand justice, while the new leadership fears that pushing too hard could destabilize the fragile recovery.

Looming threat from Israel

As Syria struggles to rebuild internally, it also faces intensifying external pressure. Over the past year, Israeli air and ground strikes have repeatedly violated Syrian territory, testing the new government’s capacity to defend its sovereignty.

In July 2025, Israeli jets struck central Damascus, hitting military facilities and areas near the presidential compound, killing several people and injuring dozens more. The strike represented one of the most direct attacks on the capital in years and rattled already fragile confidence in the new government’s ability to secure its own territory.

The pressure intensified again on November 28 when an Israeli raid on the southern town of Beit Jinn left at least 13 people dead, many of them civilians, triggering fresh waves of condemnation inside Syria and beyond.

For Al Jazaeri, such attacks represent the gravest threat to Syria’s democratic transition. “We need time, and their goal is to deny us that time,” he said.

“We cannot afford another war, and we cannot make peace from a position of weakness. Building strategic alliances is the only viable option.”

Dr. Abdulrazaq warned that persistent Israeli incursions create a structural dilemma: Damascus must choose between escalating a conflict it cannot possibly win or accepting a slow, humiliating erosion of its sovereignty.

Dr. Altikriti echoed the concern but urged a pragmatic approach.

“Syria cannot win a total war against Israel,” he said. “Its best defense lies in reconstruction, diplomatic engagement, and strengthening national institutions. Only then can it hope to manage its external threats on its own terms.”

Nation between hope and peril

One year after the fall of Damascus, Syria remains suspended between possibility and peril. Transitional-justice reforms and renewed diplomatic engagement offer glimmers of hope for stability and reconstruction.

But repeated strikes from Israel and the conspicuous absence of visible accountability for past crimes continue to cast long, dark shadows over the country’s future trajectory.

For many Syrians, the anniversary serves as a stark reminder that liberation was only the first step.

The real work begins now: delivering justice to victims, rebuilding shattered infrastructure and institutions, and confronting the hard task of maintaining sovereignty while reconstructing a nation that has endured suffering beyond what most can comprehend.

The next year will test whether Syria’s fragile new beginning can withstand the weight of its unresolved past and the pressure of present threats.