Returning to a new Syria – one year without Assad

Military parades and celebrations have been held across Syria to mark the first anniversary of the fall of Bashar al-Assad, and the end of a five-decade dynasty of iron-fisted rule.

Assad’s downfall last December came as a shock as he was overthrown by rebel forces.

The new interim president and former Jihadi leader Ahmed al-Sharaa now rules over a country fractured by 13 years of war, with ongoing sectarian violence, cities in ruins and a stable future far from guaranteed.

Still, thousands are gathering in Damascus to celebrate a day many Syrians couldn’t imagine would come.

For filmmaker and activist Waad al-Kateab, who documented the atrocities under siege in Aleppo for this programme and in the Oscar-nominated documentary ‘For Sama’, it is much more than an anniversary.

Earlier this year, she returned to Syria along with her husband Hamza, a doctor, to find her country broken, but with at least some hope of healing.

This is the story of their homecoming, filmed by Fadi al Halabi.

A warning, there are some distressing scenes in this report.

Director and Camera: Waad al-Kateab

Camera: Fadi al-Halabi

Camera and Producer: Lizzy Amanpour 

Editor: Sophie Larkin-Tanett