A Fighter affiliated with Syria's new administration rides on a camel together with a child near one of Hama's landmark historic water wheels, or norias, on the Orontos riverbank in the heart of the central Syrian city on December 30, 2024. Rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions who had pressed a lightning offensive since November 27, seizing swathes of the country from government hands, including major cities Aleppo, Hama and Homs, entered the capital Damascus on December 8, 2024, ousting president Bashar al-Assad and ending five decades of brutal rule by his clan. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)