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Clashes and protests in Lebanon over Syria's anniversary: What we know

As celebrations erupted in Lebanon to commemorate the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, Hezbollah supporters held counter-rallies.

Beatrice Farhat
Beatrice Farhat
Dec 9, 2025
TOPSHOT - Syrian and Lebanese people in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli celebrate on December 9, 2024, after Islamist-led rebels declared that they have taken the Syrian capital in a lightning offensive, sending President Bashar al-Assad fleeing and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria. (Photo by Fathi AL-MASRI / AFP) (Photo by FATHI AL-MASRI/AFP via Getty Images)
Syrian and Lebanese people in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli celebrate on December 9, 2024, after Islamist-led rebels declared that they have taken the Syrian capital in a lightning offensive, sending President Bashar al-Assad fleeing and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria. — FATHI AL-MASRI/AFP via Getty Images

BEIRUT — Lebanon witnessed dozens of public gatherings and rallies on Monday evening celebrating the one-year anniversary of the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in neighboring Syria, sparking clashes, counter demonstrations and tensions in some areas.

What happened: The most serious incident unfolded in Sidon, a Sunni-majority city in southern Lebanon, where supporters of the new Syrian authorities drove through the streets waving Syrian flags in celebration of Assad’s fall.

According to the state-run National News Agency, tensions flared when the convoy reached the Qanaya roundabout at the entrance to the Sidon suburb of Haret Saida. Local young men confronted the procession, sparking clashes.

A heated exchange quickly escalated into fistfights, beatings with sticks, and volleys of stones. Several vehicles were damaged. While no official casualties were reported, videos circulating online showed several bloodied individuals who appeared to have been injured in the fighting.

The Lebanese military quickly contained the situation.

In the town of Kfar Rumman in the Nabatieh district, also in the south, young men raised a photo of interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the town’s main roundabout, triggering scuffles with opponents. The Lebanese military was also deployed in the area to stop the fighting. 

In Khaldeh, south of Beirut, supporters of Sharaa blocked the highway leading to the Aramoun intersection, chanting pro-Syrian slogans. The military was called to the scene to reopen the road.

Rallies and marches were also held in the capital Beirut, including in the Corniche al-Mazraa area and Rawche.

Dozens of people celebrated the anniversary of Assad’s fall in the predominantly-Sunni neighborhood of Bab al-Tabbaneh in Tripoli in the north.

The celebrations in support of the new Syrian authorities were met with counter demonstrations in some areas. Videos circulating online showed supporters of the Shiite Hezbollah group gathering in the streets of the Beirut southern suburbs known as Dahiyeh and in other parts of the capital.

Heavy gunfire was reported in the Tayyouneh and Qasqas areas, with one video showing a masked man firing in the air near the Msharafiyeh bridge in Dahiyeh.

What it means: The counter-rallies staged by Hezbollah could be traced back to the friction between the Iran-backed group and Syrian refugees in Lebanon, most of whom fled the Syrian civil war fearing reprisals from the Assad regime.

Hezbollah, which had enjoyed widespread influence in Lebanon thanks to Iranian funding and support, had sent thousands of fighters to Syria to fight alongside Assad’s forces against the rebels throughout the civil war. The group had also relied on the Syrian route to smuggle weapons into Lebanon from Iran.

But Hezbollah was dealt a heavy blow after the fall of its ally on Dec. 8, 2024, and a crackdown on its smuggling efforts by both Syrian and Lebanese authorities.

Know more: The rallies held in support of Sharaa in Lebanon were also met with criticism from many Lebanese, who accused participants of being Syrians and called on them to return to their home country now that the Assad regime, which ruled Syria with an iron fist for more than five decades, has fallen.

Lebanon, a country of nearly six million people, hosts the highest number of refugees per capita in the world, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR). Government estimates indicate that about 1.3 million Syrian refugees live in the small Mediterranean nation, though only 716,000 were registered with UNHCR as of June.

Tensions between Lebanese communities and Syrian refugees periodically flare, and many Syrians face routine discrimination. Despite difficult living conditions and growing pressure from Lebanese officials to return, most refugees long resisted going back, fearing persecution by the Assad regime.

However, following the recent change in the Syrian regime, the situation has shifted. As of December 4, approximately 378,000 refugees have returned to Syria from Lebanon through a voluntary return program coordinated by Lebanese General Security and UNHCR, according to the UN agency.

Related Topics

Refugees Lebanon War Syria Conflict