The new Syria changes flag: what the three-star flag chosen by the rebels represents
The design recalls the so-called 'independence' flag, flown during Syria's struggle for independence from France
2' min read
2' min read
The new era of Syria is also expressed in the most visible symbol of any nation: the flag. After the rapid advance of the rebels and the surprise flight of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Syrians raised a new flag to represent the overthrow of almost six decades of iron-fisted Assad family rule.
Assad's flag of Syria
The flag of the Syrian Arab Republic led by Bashar al-Assad of the Ba'ath Party is divided into three horizontal bands. The red represents the blood shed in the Syrian revolution. White represents peace. Black symbolises the oppression of the Arabs during the colonial period. The colours illustrate the first great Arab revolution, when Nasser overthrew the Egyptian monarchy in 1952.
The green stars in the centre represent Syria and Egypt, the two founding states of the United Arab Republic, a short-lived state that included Egypt and Syria from 1958 to 1961, when an army coup restored Syria as an independent nation.
The father of ousted president Bashar al-Assad and Ba'ath party officials established this basic design as the official flag of Syria after the coup.
The opposition flag
.The opposition groups instead chose another flag to distinguish themselves from the Assad government and its authoritarian state. The design echoes the so-called 'independence' flag, which was flown during Syria's struggle for independence from France.
