A man displays an independence-era Syrian flag as people gather after the Friday noon prayer in Aleppo on December 13, 2024, to celebrate the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad and the end of five decades of Baath rule in the country. More than half a century of brutal rule by the Assad clan came to a sudden end on December 8, after a lightning rebel offensive swept across the country and took the capital. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP)