After decades of tyranny, Bashar al-Assad's regime fell

After decades of tyranny, Bashar al-Assad's regime fell

The suffering Syrians celebrate on the streets after one of the most brutal dictatorships in the world broke together in just a few weeks.

The long shadow of Assad rule

For over half a century, the Assad family with an iron hand was over Syria. Long -documented reports demonstrate Massenas incarceration, torture, extra -galgal killings and atrocities against their own people. A civil war that began during the Arab spring 2011 devastated the country and turned it into a incubator for the extremist group ISIS. In addition, he inflamed an international deputy war and a refugee crisis People from their houses.

The collapse of the regime

on Sunday, after 13 years of civil war, which has divided the country, rebel fighters Damascus declared "freed" in a video message on state television. This forced the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to flee to Russia. Videos showed how prisoners were freed from Assad's infamous detention centers. Rebels and civilians were filmed as they looted the presidential palace, while the recordings were his luxurious lifestyle and a large car collection unveiled. Many in the country have hope that Syria could finally be free, but the uncertainty about the next steps remains great.

The processes of the conflict

An armed rebel group crossed large cities within 11 days, starting with a surprise attack, and re -laid a conflict that has largely stagnated since a ceasefire agreement in 2020. A new rebel association, led by the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), took control of Aleppo, Syria's largest city on November 30th. This happened almost without resistance on the part of the Syrian army. Despite attacks by Syrian and Russian planes on rebels in Aleppo and Idlib, the opposition quickly also took up the second large city of Hama and quickly moved to Homs - the goal to the capital Damascus. After Homs had fallen, the rebel Damascus surrounded and explained the fall of Assad and the “liberation” of the city.

The composition of the rebels

The rebel coalition in Syria bears the name "Military Operation Command". It consists of various Islamist and moderate political groups, which despite its differences combined for the fall of the Assad regime, fight against ISIS and Iran-supported militias. The leader of this coalition is Abu Mohammad al-jolani The HTS, a former al-Qaida offshoot, which was previously known as Al-Nusra Front.

the balance of power and Assad's fate

Bashar al-Assad is part of a autocratic dynasty that has been over Syria for more than five decades. As a former ophthalmologist who studied in London, he came to power after the death of his father Hafez al-Assad, who was in power from 1970 until his death in 2000 in 2000. During the civil war, Assad and his troops were repeatedly held responsible for serious human rights violations and brutal attacks on civilians. The Sarin-gas attack from 2013 in Ghouta, in which more than 1,400 people were killed and from which the then UN General Secretary War crime was classified.

The rebels have exploited the weakness of the regime, the key allies of which are busy with other conflicts. Analyzes indicate that the Syrian rebels have used the gap, which was created by the concentration of forces on other wars, to move in Syria. While the anti-regime coalition dissolves Assad's military and presents its vision for a Syria to Assad, experts ask the question of whether this is initiating a new era for a people who was suffocated by a brutal autocracy or whether sectarian tensions could bring a different form of authoritarian rule. US President Joe Biden described the case of the Assad regime as a "historical opportunity for the suffering people of Syria to build a better future", also warned of the risks and uncertainties in the region.

Currently Syrians are celebrating the surprising political turn around the world that many met in the rest of the world.