The Assad family’s half-century rule in Syria has come to an end. We recount what led to the rebels’ rapid advance.
12:37•Updated 12:44
In Syria, rebel forces said early on Sunday that they had captured the capital, Damascus.
There are several rebel groups in the city, but they are led by an Islamic extremist Hayat Tahrir al-Shamgroup (HTS).
President Bashar al-Assad has fled the capital. Thus ended the Assad family’s more than 50-year reign.
In this story, we recount the events before Sunday’s dramatic turn.
A bloody civil war in the background
The Syrian civil war began in 2011 as part of the so-called Arab Spring. At the same time, it was a popular uprising against the Assad dynasty. The war escalated quickly and numerous rebel groups took part in it. Millions of Syrians fled abroad.
The civil war has continued until these days, but in the last four years more subdued.
The revolution happened in just a few weeks
The ongoing revolution has happened very quickly.
The change of power began two weeks ago with the capture of the city of Aleppo in northwestern Syria.
The reason for the rapid collapse of Aleppo is considered to be that the Assad regime had begun to crumble from within. The army’s will to fight had also begun to wane.
Yesterday, Saturday, rebel groups captured Syria’s largest province, Homs. After this, it became possible for the rebels to even enter Damascus.
It seems that a large part of the Syrians change of power.
The war in Ukraine binds Russian forces
The Syrian dictator Assad has relied on Russia in recent years, and was only able to fight the rebels with Russia’s help.
Russia began its direct involvement in the Syrian civil war in 2015. It provided Syria primarily with weapons and air force fighters.
Russia has justified military aid to Syria, among other things, by saying that it participates in the fight against terrorism.
There has also been a mercenary army, Wagner’s forces, in Syria. They left Syria in 2023 Yevgeny Prigozhin After a failed hijacking attempt in Russia.
Recently, the war in Ukraine has tied up Russian forces so that Assad has received less support than before.
Israel’s strikes have weakened Hezbollah
Iran has also supported the Syrian regime for a long time, and there have also been Hezbollah forces in Syria supported by Iran.
In recent months, Hezbollah has suffered heavy losses in battles against Israeli forces in Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s weakening is seen as a major reason why Syrian rebels launched an offensive on Aleppo in November.
Russia, Iran and Turkey still demanded yesterday Saturday to stop the rebels in Syria.
Turkey’s role in the ongoing revolution is unclear. Among other things, according to the news channel Al Jazeera, the rebels receive support from Turkey.
Islamists still had power in parts of Syria
The extreme Islamic terrorist organization Isis established an Islamic state, or caliphate, in northern Syria in 2014. Its power waned by 2017. However, until today, ISIS has had cells in parts of the desert belonging to Syria.
In Idlib, northwestern Syria, the ruling force has been the extremist Islamist HTS, which is now leading forces against the Assad regime.
A ceasefire brokered by Russia has been in force in the region since 2020.
In Syria, several rebel forces are participating in the ouster of Assad.
It makes it very difficult to establish a future administration.