One year after the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, the country’s largest statue of former president Hafez al-Assad remains toppled in the town of Deir Atiyah, north of Damascus. The statue was torn down by residents using heavy machinery on December 8, 2024, as opposition forces entered the capital and ended more than 50 years of Assad family rule. Once overlooking the strategic Homs–Damascus highway, the ruined monument has become a symbol of the regime’s collapse. Its remains continue to stand as a reminder of the end of an era in Syria.
Farrah Abou Jaib