“Free at Last”: Syrians Across the World Celebrate the Fall of Assad Regime

Thousands of Syrians, many of them refugees who fled the brutal civil war, took to the streets of European cities on Sunday to celebrate the collapse of the Assad family’s half-century rule.

In Berlin, the heart of Europe’s largest Syrian diaspora, over 5,000 people gathered in the Kreuzberg district, waving opposition flags, chanting “Free Syria,” and singing in celebration. The air was filled with the sounds of car horns honking in support, and the crowd’s cries of “Allahu Akbar!” (God is Greatest) echoed through the streets. Children’s faces were painted in the colors of the Syrian national flag, adding a sense of hope and innocence to the occasion.

“Finally, we are free!” declared Bassam Al-Hamada, 39, beaming with joy amid the sea of revelers. Al-Hamada, a social worker who fled to Germany in 2016, described the moment as a long-awaited victory for Syrian exiles like himself.

“We’re happy. The dictatorship is over. Assad has gone,” said Ahmed, 39, a Syrian refugee in Berlin, who fled from Aleppo in 2015. His words were echoed by Ahmad al-Hallabi, 27, a mechanic from Aleppo, who recalled the horrors of war he witnessed before escaping to Germany. “Assad is the worst terrorist imaginable. I hope there’ll be peace now and that everything Assad and his men destroyed will be rebuilt,” al-Hallabi said.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has fled his country and arrived in Russia, according to Russian state media and two Iranian officials. The dramatic development follows a swift and decisive offensive by rebel forces who seized control of Damascus on Sunday, marking a stunning downfall for the leader who ruled Syria with an iron grip for over two decades.

The collapse of Assad’s regime signals a seismic shift in Syria’s political landscape. Since the 1970s, the al-Assad family has maintained an authoritarian hold on the nation, crushing opposition with brute force. After more than a decade of civil war, it took only a matter of days for rebel forces to achieve what years of conflict had not: the ousting of Bashar al-Assad.

Celebrations erupted in parts of Syria as news of Assad’s departure spread. “Our hearts are dancing with joy,” said Walaa Salameh, a 35-year-old resident of the Damascus area. “We can’t predict the future and anything is possible, but the most important thing is we got rid of this oppressive regime.”

The repercussions of Assad’s ousting have already spread beyond Syria’s borders. Israel’s military announced it had entered a demilitarized buffer zone in the Golan Heights to safeguard its border amid the rapidly changing situation. Iraq also closed its Al-Qaim border crossing with Syria, citing national security concerns.

As Syria faces an uncertain future, its neighbors are bracing for potential aftershocks. The region has already seen how the collapse of authoritarian regimes can create power vacuums that extremist groups rush to fill. The world is now watching to see what kind of leadership emerges in Syria — and what that means for the broader Middle East.