A New Syria Emerges After 13 Years Of Civil War And Decades Of Dictatorship

DAMASCUS, SYRIA - JANUARY 16: A woman waves a Syrian flag as people walk through the courtyard of the Umayyad mosque in the Old City in central Damascus on January 16, 2025 in Damascus, Syria. Following the overthrow of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad by opposition groups in a quick offensive on December 8, the country is looking to gain economic momentum after years of global sanctions on the Assad-led government. Arab and Western countries have been reopening diplomatic relations with Syria's new de facto authorities, headed by the Islamist former insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS. Fourteen years of war have left the Syrian economy damaged, with tens of thousands of residents living on or below the poverty line. The World Food Program estimates that 13.1 million Syrians do not have enough to eat. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)