Syrian Revolution Victory Conference

Conference for Announcing the Victory of the Syrian Revolution
Host country	Syria
Date	29 January 2025
Cities	Damascus, Syria
Chair	Ahmed al-Sharaa

The Syrian Revolution Victory Conference, officially titled the Conference for Announcing the Victory of the Syrian Revolution (Arabic: مؤتمر إعلان انتصار الثورة السورية), was a conference held in Damascus, Syria on 29 January 2025 that 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, HTS 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.

Al-Sharaa held a similar conference in Damascus in late December 2024, where various groups agreed to merge under the Defense Ministry. Some of the rebel figures who attended that meeting, including Azzam al-Gharib and Murhaf Abu Qasra, have been appointed to either political or military positions in the new administration.

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."

Spokesman for the Military Operations Command, Colonel Hassan 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.

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 Southern Operations Room, as well as local groups from Suwayda and the Syrian Democratic Forces, were excluded.