What is going on in Syria and why now?

The Assad household has dominated Syria with an iron fist for greater than 50 years. Now that is over.

Bashar al-Assad grew to become president after the loss of life in 2000 of his father Hafez, who had dominated the nation for almost three many years.

In 2011, he brutally crushed a peaceable pro-democracy rebellion, sparking a devastating civil warfare wherein greater than half one million folks have been killed and 12 million others have been compelled to flee their properties .

Twelve days in the past, the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied insurgent factions launched a serious offensive in northwest Syria.

The rebels shortly captured the nation's second-largest metropolis, Aleppo, then headed south on the freeway to the capital, Damascus, as the military collapsed.

Russia introduced that Assad had resigned and left Syria on Sunday, hours after rebels entered Damascus and crowds gathered within the streets to rejoice, though his whereabouts have been unclear.

HTS chief Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani later arrived in Damascus and informed Syrians: “The longer term is ours.”

For the previous 4 years, it had appeared as if the civil warfare was nicely and really over.

Assad's authorities had regained management of most Syrian cities with assist from Russia, Iran and Iranian-backed militias like Hezbollah, and the entrance strains have been largely frozen.

Nonetheless, massive components of the nation are nonetheless outdoors authorities management.

The rebels' final stronghold was within the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib, which border Turkey and have been residence to greater than 4 million folks, lots of whom have been displaced. It was dominated by HTS, however plenty of allied insurgent teams and jihadist teams have been additionally based mostly there. Turkish-backed insurgent factions additionally managed the territory with the assist of Turkish troops.

On November 27, HTS and its allies launched their shock offensive.

After three days, they took management of most of Aleppo, Syria's second-largest metropolis. They stated they encountered little resistance on the bottom after the federal government shortly withdrew its troops and safety forces.

Turkish-backed insurgent factions took benefit of the federal government's withdrawal to launch a separate offensive into territory north of Aleppo managed by a Kurdish-led, US-backed militia alliance, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). ).

Assad has vowed to “crush” the rebels with the assistance of his allies. Russian warplanes have stepped up strikes on rebel-held areas and Iranian-backed militias have despatched reinforcements to assist the military close to Hama, the following city south on the highway to Damascus.

However Hama fell to rebels on Thursday, after a number of days of fierce preventing that lastly compelled the military to withdraw.

The rebels stated their subsequent aim was to take Homs, Syria's third-largest metropolis, and succeeded Saturday night after only a day of preventing. On the similar time, different based mostly insurgent factions have been reaching the suburbs of Damascus.

Early Sunday, HTS-led rebels introduced they’d entered Damascus and launched detainees at the country's most famous military prison, Saydnaya.

Lower than two hours later, they declared: “The tyrant Bashar al-Assad has fled.”

Activists and military officers stated the president left Damascus on a airplane to an unknown vacation spot.

Prime Minister Mohammed al-Jalali introduced in a video that he was “able to cooperate with” any chief “chosen by the Syrian folks.”

Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani ordered his forces to not strategy official establishments, saying they might stay underneath the authority of the prime minister till they have been “formally” handed over.

The rebels additionally promised to construct a “homeland for all, together with all sects and social courses.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, reported that at the least 910 folks have been killed, together with 138 civilians, because the insurgent offensive started.

The Islamist militant group that led the offensive in opposition to Assad was established in 2012 underneath one other identify, al-Nusra Entrance.

The Nusra Entrance, which pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda the next 12 months, was thought of one of the crucial efficient and lethal teams within the combat in opposition to President Assad.

However he was feared for his jihadist ideology and was seen as at odds with the principle insurgent coalition, the largely secular Free Syrian Military.

In 2016, Al-Nusra severed ties with Al-Qaeda and took the identify Hayat Tahrir al-Sham when it merged with different factions a 12 months later.

Nonetheless, the UN, US, UK and plenty of different nations proceed to view HTS as an al-Qaeda-affiliated group and incessantly discuss with it as al-Nusra Entrance. The US designated Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani as a Specifically Designated World Terrorist and provided a $10 million reward for info resulting in his seize.

HTS consolidated its energy in Idlib and Aleppo provinces by crushing rivals, together with cells of the Al-Qaeda group and the Islamic State (IS). He established the so-called Syrian Salvation Authorities to manage the territory in line with Islamic regulation.

For a number of years, Idlib remained a battleground as Syrian authorities forces tried to regain management.

However in 2020, Turkey and Russia negotiated a ceasefire to halt authorities efforts to retake Idlib. The ceasefire was largely revered regardless of sporadic preventing.

HTS and its allies declared on November 27 that they had launched an offensive to “deter aggression”accusing the federal government and allied militias backed by Iran of intensifying assaults on civilians.

However it got here at a time when the federal government was weakened by years of warfare, sanctions and corruption – with allies like Russia and Iran preoccupied with different conflicts.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah group has lately suffered from the Israeli offensive in Lebanon. Israeli strikes eradicated Iranian army commanders in Syria and Russia was distracted by the warfare in Ukraine.

With out them, Assad's forces have been uncovered.

Russia stated it was “following the dramatic occasions in Syria with excessive concern.” The International Workplace referred to as on “all events concerned” within the Syrian battle to “resign using violence and resolve all governance points by political means”. He additionally stated that Russian army bases in Syria have been “on alert”, though their safety posed “no severe menace”.

Iran expressed its hope to see “the speedy finish of army conflicts, the prevention of terrorist actions and the beginning of a nationwide dialogue” with all elements of Syrian society.

Turkey stated Syria was now at a stage “the place the Syrian folks will form the way forward for their very own nation”. International Minister Hakan Fidan stated the brand new authorities “should be established in an orderly method” and warned that “the precept of inclusion must not ever be compromised.”

The occupying Zionist entity's prime minister stated the collapse of Assad's authorities was a “direct consequence” of his nation's motion in opposition to Hezbollah and Iran. Benjamin Netanyahu additionally introduced that he had ordered the Israeli military to quickly “take over” Syrian military positions within the demilitarized zone of the Golan Heights, saying {that a} 1974 ceasefire settlement between each nations had “collapsed” as a result of Syrian troops had deserted their posts.

The White Home stated US President Joe Biden and his group have been “intently monitoring the extraordinary occasions in Syria and remaining in fixed contact with regional companions.”

Iraq, the place highly effective Iranian-backed militias have despatched fighters to assist the Syrian military within the civil warfare, stated it supported efforts to open a dialogue in Syria “resulting in the adoption of 'a pluralist structure that preserves the human and civil rights of Syrians'.

Jordan's King Abdullah, who supported insurgent factions at first of the warfare, stated he revered the need and selections of the Syrian folks. He confused the significance of imposing stability and avoiding “any battle that might result in chaos.”

European Union international coverage chief Kaja Kallas referred to as Assad's fall a “optimistic and long-awaited growth” and stated the bloc's precedence was guaranteeing safety within the area.