ALEPPO, Syria, May 28, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said in a speech on Tuesday that the country's post-war reconstruction had 'just begun', calling on his people to unite.

Sharaa was speaking at the "Aleppo, Key to Victory" event in said city, the first major population centre to fall during the Islamist-led offensive that toppled longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December.

Pictures of fighters killed in the battle for Aleppo were shown on screens prior to Sharaa's speech.

"O great Syrian people, the battle of construction has just begun," Sharaa said to a jubilant crowd.

"Let us all unite and seek the help of God to create a bright future for a venerable country and a deserving people," he added.

Syria's 14-year civil war killed over half a million people and left the country in desperate need of reconstruction.

Western sanctions imposed on Assad were recently lifted, paving the way for a potential recovery.

Addressing the Syrian people, Sharaa said they "let us seize the available opportunity and take on this duty".

"Let our slogan be as we raised it before, we do not rest and we do not relax until we rebuild Syria anew and boast about it to the entire world," he said.