The men who took Damascus in December 2024 inherited a country without an army, with a currency worth almost nothing, cities in rubble, and an economy a fraction of what it was before the war. They have written a provisional constitution that puts nearly all power in the president's hands for five years, merged dozens of armed factions into a new army, put the old rulers on trial, and obtained the lifting of sanctions. Whether they are building a state for all Syrians or for the Sunni Islamist movement they came from is what Syrians argue about.
The wider conflict and each side's full account: Syria after Assad.
Where it stands · September 2026
The international nuclear agency secured 73 tons of uranium left from the Assad era, and Syria began destroying chemical weapons from that period. Jordan approved the revival of the Arab Gas Pipeline to supply natural gas to Lebanon through Syria. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan condemned an Israeli incursion into Syria. Japan removed 16 Syrian organisations from its sanctions list. Syria said it dismantled a cell linked to Hezbollah that was preparing rocket launchers.
What the dispute is about
Who holds power. A president chosen by military commanders, a parliament one third appointed by him and two thirds picked by committees he named, and no vote by the public before 2030.
One army. Rebel factions, foreign volunteers and former Kurdish units have been folded into a single force. Whether it obeys the state or its old commanders was tested on the coast and in Suwayda in 2025, when fighters under its flag killed civilians from the minorities.
Justice. Trials of Assad's officials have begun. Alawites, who filled his security services, fear collective punishment. Victims of the old government fear that the big names will never be reached and ask why crimes by the winning side are not tried with the same energy.
Bread. Subsidies the state can no longer afford are being withdrawn from people who cannot afford to lose them.
