Bashar al-Assad’s Regime Suddenly Out of Power in Syria

With astonishing suddenness, the regime of Syria's Bashar al-Assad is over. It was a brutal dictatorship which lasted for decades. Not long ago, it looked like it was still firmly entrenched in power, and that it would not be seriously threatened anytime soon.

Then suddenly, the rebel cause gained momentum, capturing city after city until, on Sunday, they captured Damasus, the capital city.

Bashar al-Assad has been ousted, and he fled to Russia. The Assad family had ruled Syria for almost half a century. They ruled Syria, according to a recent article by Rob Picheta and Helen Regan of CNN (see link to article below) with an "iron fist, with long-documented reports of mass incarceration torture, extra-judicial killings and atrocities against their own people."

Rebel fighters captured Damascus on Sunday. Then they sent out a video in which they proclaimed to have "liberated" the city. 

The rebels are led by Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the head of militant group HTS. Both he and the group that he leads have a rather complicated and troubled past. He once was a member of Al Qaeda, and considered an apprentice to then future-ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

However, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani stated that he had a split with Al Qaeda in 2016, and has been trying to distance himself from radical Islam. 

Still, many countries continue to regard the HTS as a terrorist organization. That includes Turkey, the United States, and the United Nations. 

In the CNN article which was already mentioned and which I used in writing this particular blog entry, comparisons were made between the quick HTS takeover of Syria and the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. That includes an effort to try and make an appeal to Western governments and media, although many suspect that this is just a front before more draconian measures within the country will now be implemented, as the Taliban did in Afghanistan:

It draws parallels with the Taliban, whose rapid return to power in Afghanistan in 2021 was accompanied by a Western-friendly push to appear moderate, forgiving and forward-looking, even as the group implemented a draconian return to Sharia law and a crackdown on the rights of women and minorities.

It remains to be seen what will happen in Syria. The full ramifications of this rather astonishing collapse of the old regime and a takeover by a new militant group will likely become clearer over the coming weeks and months. 

Much of the information in this particular blog entry, and all of the quotes used in the above, were taken from the following CNN article:

After decades of brutal rule, Bashar al-Assad’s regime has been toppled. Here’s what you need to know by Rob Picheta and Helen Regan, CNN, Mon December 9, 2024:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/09/middleeast/syria-assad-rebels-explainer-intl-hnk/index.html