Assad Regime Falls In Syria

Photo Credit: Ali Haj Suleiman/Al Jazeera

After 54 years, Syria’s autocratic regime, led by Bashar al-Assad, has fallen. This followed a lightning offensive that saw an al-Qaeda-derived group take power, as Russia and Hezbollah — the government's forces’ key allies — were preoccupied with conflicts closer to home.

By Nov. 24, rebel forces appeared to still be confined to Idlib, a northwestern province, and altogether banished from Syria’s capital, Damascus. On Nov. 27, a lightning offensive began, exploiting Assad’s vulnerability as he lacked protection from Russia and Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy group.

In the span of a week, rebels captured key cities, including Aleppo, Hama, and Homs, and immediately freed thousands of inmates. Rebel forces reached Damascus on Dec. 8, and captured the city with little armed conflict.

Assad fled to Moscow, where he and his family have been granted asylum, according to TASS, a Russian News Agency. 

The collapse of the Assad regime was a key objective of the Arab Spring, a series of pro-democracy protests that took place in the Middle East and North Africa. In 2011, many Syrians united to demand regime change, ultimately creating political unrest which led to the ongoing civil war.

The war has caused the loss of almost 500,000 lives, and has involved the use of outlawed chemical weapons by government forces. Consequently, Syria’s economy has shrunk to half its 2010 size. However, rebel leadership has changed since the uprising began.

In 2011, the movement was led by secular pro-democracy groups, collectively known as the Free Syrian Army. These groups have now been overtaken by Ahmed al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an armed jihadist force — designated a terrorist group by Canada and the United States.

Following his victory in an address at a Damascus religious site, al-Sharaa said, “This victory is for all Syrians [...] We are the rightful owners [of this country], we have been fighting, and today we have been rewarded with this victory.” No matter what the future may hold, many Syrians were relieved to see Assad gone.

“This day has been a dream for 13 years,” said Asaad Hanna, a Syrian journalist living in exile. Hanna was a former member of the White Helmets, a volunteer group with the aim of rescuing victims of air strikes that has drawn international attention.

“I’m still dizzy, not sure if this is true, but we are a free country right now,” Mr. Hanna told The Globe and Mail. “I’m going home as soon as possible.”

After the HTS and other rebel factions seized Damascus, residents took to the streets in celebration. They tore down a statue of Mr. al-Assad’s father, Hafez al-Assad, and looted the presidential palace and Iranian embassy. In the embassy, they destroyed posters of key Hezbollah and IRGC commanders.

Al-Sharaa has appointed Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali, a former Syrian prime minister, to act as caretaker leader. However, his hold on power remains uncertain.

The Syrian National Army, and other groups backed by Türkiye, still have a power stake in the country’s north. Kurdish forces, with US backing, control a region east of the Euphrates River, near Iraq.

Also, as the HTS neared Damascus from the north, other rebel groups led a surprise offensive from the south. While these groups may have been aligned with the HTS to defeat Assad, it remains unclear who they will ally themselves with following the toppling of the regime.

Since the regime change, Syria has also seen increased tensions with its neighbours.

Türkiye is shelling the Kurdish-controlled northern region, according to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights. It aims to prevent the creation of an independent Kurdish nation.

Tensions with Israel have also flared. While Israel saw Assad as an enemy, it also wishes to prevent an Islamist regime from forming on its north-eastern border.

Since Assad’s death, Israeli forces have made advances in parts of the Golan Heights previously held by Syria. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the incursions were made “to ensure that no hostile force embeds itself right next to the border of Israel.”

Following Assad’s death, Israel has also launched multiple air strikes deep into Syria, hitting a science research centre and a facility formerly used by the mukhabarat, the Assad regime’s infamous spy agency.