Syrian rebels plunged the Assad regime: 7 cards show how

Syrian rebels plunged the Assad regime: 7 cards show how

A multifrontal civil war has been raging in Syria for more than a decade, which has divided and devastated the country. While the majority of this time showed hardly any signs of an end to the fights, there was a dramatic collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime within a few weeks

The surprise attack of the rebels

On November 27, 2023, the Syrian rebel forces under the command of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former Al-Qaida-saving group, carried out a surprising attack on the whole country. They use the distraction of Assads allies who were busy with conflicts in other places in the region.

The rapid upheaval

The speed and the extent of the upheaval were impressive: Before this attack, Pro Assad troops controlled more than 60 % of the Syrian territory, according to an analysis of CNN, based on data from the Institute for the Study of War and the Critical Threat Project of the AEI. CNN mapped, as the rebels conquered several important cities, caught up with government -friendly forces and Assads regime successfully plunged after 11 days.

the use of central cities

In the first week, the rebels made progress in northern Syria. HTS-connected rebels conquered territories and took control of Aleppo, the second largest city in the country on December 3, before moving further towards Hama. Just a few days later, HTS-connected rebels took control of the city of Hama and continued their advance towards Homs, while unknown opposition groups in the south.

The withdrawal of the regime

until December 7, the regime of Assad began to decompose, as its troops withdrawn from rebels controlled areas throughout the country. On December 8th, the rebels claimed control over Damascus, the capital of Syria. On the same day, Assad returned from his post and fled to Russia, where he gave instructions on peaceful transmission of power and received asylum in accordance with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

reactions to the change of regime

The collapse of the Assad regime also led to a drastic military reaction of Israels . Israel launched air strikes on Syria and sent ground troops in and beyond a demilitarized buffer zone founded in 1974. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he had commissioned the army to conquer this demilitarized "separation area" between the Golanhöhen occupied by Israel and the rest of Syria.

The future government of Syria

A government guide connected to the rebels, Mohammad al-Bashir, was appointed the state's prime minister for the next three months. During this time, his government will monitor Syria's transition to a new government, as he announced in a television language on December 10th.

This situation is still being pursued by international interest because it could significantly influence the balance of power in the Middle East.

CNNS Alex Marquardt, Katie Bo Lillis, Natasha Bertrand, Mick Krever, Eyad Kourdi and Dana Karni contributed to this report.