Bashar Assad, Syria’s dictator, has been ousted from office, thus ending the Assad family’s 54-year rule following a spectacular rebel offensive that reached the capital. Assad’s whereabouts are not known yet and other high-ranking military and intelligence officials have left their positions in the capital.
Numerous factors contributed to the swift collapse of the Assad regime’s army and affiliated militias
Syrians have poured into streets resonating with joyous gunfire. In images reminiscent of the early days of the Arab Spring revolt, happy people gathered in Damascus’ central squares, waving the Syrian revolutionary flag. Videos of crowds demolishing Assad statues in the capital city of Damascus have been shared on social media, following similar actions in Aleppo, Hama, and Homs.
Almost 10 days ago, a surprise onslaught by revolutionary factions in northwest Syria changed the course of events in Syria. Numerous factors contributed to the swift collapse of the Assad regime’s army and affiliated militias.
Today, the Russian Foreign Ministry declared that Assad had resigned as president and left Syria. Although there isn’t a serious security danger to Russian military outposts in Syria at the moment, the ministry emphasised that they are on high alert.
For the first time since 2016, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov changed his tone towards the Syrian opposition on Saturday. Lavrov stated in a speech in Doha that it was important to distinguish between terrorists and moderate resistance fighters. Iran has also ceased calling opponents of the Syrian regime “terrorists,” which is another indication of its changing positions. Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, made reference to “legal occupants” during a Doha interview.
In June 2000 at the age of just 34, after three decades of his father’s strict control, Assad was portrayed as a young reformer. Prior to becoming president, he held the sole recognised role of head of the Syrian Computer Society. Assad mostly depended on the same base of support as his father: his Alawite sect, which is a subset of Shiite Islam and accounts for around 10% of the population. Younger generations of the same families who had worked for his father were given many of the positions in his government.
in March 2011, Assad turned to his father’s violent methods to quell opposition. With the help of Russia and Iran, he unleashed his troops to destroy cities controlled by the opposition.
Assad looked to his own family as well. Maher, his younger brother, would oversee the crackdown on the rebellion and was the head of the elite Presidential Guard. Together with her husband, Deputy Defence Minister Assef Shawkat, who was slain in a 2012 attack, their sister Bushra was a powerful voice in his inner circle.
When anti-Assad demonstrations broke out in March 2011, he turned to his father’s violent methods to quell opposition. With the help of Russia and Iran, he unleashed his troops to destroy cities controlled by the opposition.
His security forces launched a violent crackdown as the Arab Spring wave reached Syria, despite Assad’s constant denials that a popular uprising was imminent. Instead, he accused “foreign-backed terrorists” of attempting to topple his government.
The ousting of Assad marks the beginning of a new era in Syria’s history
Prosecutors and international rights organisations have accused Syria’s government-run detention facilities of widespread arbitrary executions and torture. Half of the 23 million people who lived in the nation before the conflict were displaced, and hundreds of thousands of people have died.
Despite the ongoing Western sanctions against the Assad regime, Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League last year, and Saudi Arabia appointed its first ambassador to Damascus in May after cutting ties with the country 12 years ago.
The ousting of Assad marks the beginning of a new era in Syria’s history. There is a strong sense of optimism for a brighter future for a populace that has endured significant hardships.
