Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad Flees as Rebels Seize Damascus
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has fled the capital city of Damascus, according to two senior army officers. The rebels have declared the city “free of the tyrant Bashar al-Assad” and a half-century of Assad family rule has come to an end. Statues of Assad’s father and brother were toppled in cities taken by the rebels, while pictures of him on billboards and government offices were torn down, stamped on, burned or riddled with bullets.
Assad, who has been president for 24 years, has been using Russian and Iranian firepower to beat back rebel forces during the years-long civil war. However, he has never been able to fully defeat them, leaving him vulnerable to their advances.
Assad became president in 2000 after his father Hafez died, and has been shaped by the Iraq war and crisis in Lebanon. He has been branded an “animal” by U.S. President Donald Trump for using chemical weapons, which he has denied.
Assad has outlasted many of the foreign leaders who believed his demise was imminent in the early days of the conflict. He has been helped by Russian air strikes and Iranian-backed militias, and has clawed back much of the lost territory during years of military offensives.
Despite his victories, Assad has never been able to revive the shattered Syrian state, and has remained a pariah to much of the world. He has been accused of using chemical weapons, barrel bombs, and torture, and has denied these accusations.
Assad has also been accused of fuelling sectarianism, and has been backed by those Syrians who believe he is saving them from hardline Sunni Islamists. Rebel forces have sought to assure Christians, Alawites, and other minorities that they will be protected as they advance.
Assad has presented himself as a humble man of the people, appearing in films driving a modest family car and in photographs with his wife visiting war veterans in their homes. However, his rule has been marked by repression, corruption, and nepotism.
The conflict has been marked by a high death toll, with more than 350,000 people killed and over a quarter of the population having fled abroad. The war has also caused widespread destruction, with cities being flattened and infrastructure being damaged.
