A year after Assad, Syria and the world wait to see if Sharaa is democrat or despot

As a grocer's son turned jihadist warlord marks the anniversary of his toppling of the regime, a shattered country still fears his intentions, report Ruth Michaelson and Saad Alnassife in Damascus

- Ruth Michaelson and Saad Alnassife

Fighters from militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, once led by Syria's new ruler, gather in Damascus after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

(Chris McGrath/Getty)

Sitting high on a plateau over Damascus, the imposing modernist white marble of Syria's presidential palace is easily visible from the middle-class neighbourhood of beige high-rises where Ahmed al-Sharaa grew up. That the quiet, studious boy from Mezzeh, more often seen in the local mosque or his father's grocery, is now living in the palace is remarkable to his childhood neighbours.

Mohammed Samy, the local barber who gave Sharaa the occasional haircut, recalls how people used to jokingly call the man who now rules Syria "Abu Ahmed" - Ahmed's father. He seemed older than his adolescent years. Unlike his brothers, he wasn't one to hang around with teenagers.

Sharaa spent his 20s in Iraq as a footsoldier for al-Qaida and his 30s in the rocky hills of Idlib leading a jihadist militia. Now he wears tailored suits and expensive watches and is described by his new ally, the US president Donald Trump, as a "young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past."

The question for Sharaa a year after the fall of Bashar al-Assad is what sort of leader will he be? Is he a careful operator who might be persuaded to heed growing demands from Syrian minorities and more secular revolutionaries to build an inclusive democracy? Will he rule like a warlord, as he did in Idlib? Or is he a new kind of autocrat, willing to rebuild and employ Assad's security state, and to rule with an iron fist?

Becoming president

When The Observer met Sharaa in Idlib in 2023, he was dressed in a black fleece and scuffed trainers and was uncomfortable being photographed. He did not look or act like someone who aspired to lead a nation - he was more focused on feeding the millions taking shelter in the city.