CELEBRATIONS were held in Damascus and other cities today as Syria marked the 75th anniversary of its independence and the end of French colonial rule.

President Bashar al-Assad warned that the country still faces the threat of terrorism and a crippling US-imposed economic blockade designed to undermine the Syrian government.

They were compared to the French occupying forces who were expelled from the country on April 17, 1946 paving the way for Syria’s independence.