Syrian civil defence members and first responders rescuing a young victim from the site of an explosion in Syria's western coastal city of Latakia. AFP
The rally in Damascus's Umayyad Square was the first in the capital after years of repression under Assad, during which the square was the sole preserve of the ousted president's supporters.
Activists called on people to hold similar demonstrations in the major cities of Homs, Idlib and Hama under the slogan "Syria is victorious".
Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani hailed the anniversary, saying on X: "We will remain indebted to the first cry of freedom, which erupted in Daraa, the cradle of the Syrian revolution, and spread to all cities. We will remain loyal to the great sacrifices made by our people over more than 14 years."
By the afternoon, dozens of people had gathered in Umayyad Square, amid a heavy security presence and with military helicopters overhead dropping leaflets bearing the slogan "there is no room for hate among us".
Security forces were stationed at all entrances to the square, with some of them handing out flowers to demonstrators while speakers blared revolutionary and Islamic songs.
Many of the demonstrators waved the Syrian flag -- officially changed from the one used under Assad to the design from the independence era -- and held signs reading "the revolution has triumphed".
The celebrations were expected to pick up again in the evening, following the iftar meal that breaks the daytime fast observed during Ramadan.
'Justice, dignity and peace'
The Syrian conflict began with peaceful demonstrations against Assad's government on March 15, 2011, in which thousands took part. It later spiralled into civil war after he bloodily suppressed the protests.
Ahmed al-Sharaa, who headed the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which spearheaded the lightning offensive that toppled on December 8, has since been named interim president.
The United Nations special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said on Friday: "It is fourteen years since Syrians took to the streets in peaceful protest, demanding dignity, freedom and a better future.
"And they now deserve a transition that is worthy of this."
Pedersen called for "an immediate end to all violence and for protection of civilians".
On Thursday, Sharaa signed into law a temporary constitution regulating a five-year transition before a permanent constitution is promulgated.
Analysts have criticised the declaration, saying it grants too much power to Sharaa and fails to provide sufficient protection to the country's minorities.
In a statement marking the anniversary, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Council in the northeast renewed its objections to the interim constitution, saying it "did not adequately reflect the aspirations of the Syrian people to build a just and democratic state".
Its adoption came a week after Syria's Mediterranean coast, the heartland of Assad's Alawite minority, was gripped by the worst wave of violence since his overthrow.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, security forces and allied groups killed at least 1,500 civilians, mainly Alawites, in the violence that began on March 6.
A blast in the Syrian coastal city of Latakia killed at least four people on Saturday, state media reported, adding that it was triggered by a scrap dealer mishandling an unexploded ordnance.
"Four civilians were killed and nine injured in an explosion in a hardware store inside a four-storey building" in the city's Al-Rimal neighbourhood, state news agency SANA said, adding that four of the injured were children.
The news agency said the blast was detonated when the scrap dealer mishandled an unexploded munition in an attempt to recover the metal.
Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also described the blast as an "accident" resulting from a resident's attempt to dismantle unexploded ordnance.
An image carried by SANA showed a large plume of smoke rising over a populated neighbourhood.
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