Syria: How a lighting assault by Syrian rebels toppled Assad’s regime in lower than two weeks | EUROtoday

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Half a century of the Assad household ruling Syria have collapsed in lower than two weeks, in a seismic second for the Middle East.

Opposition forces swept throughout the nation and entered Damascus with little or no resistance because the Syrian military melted away. President Bashar Assad, Syria’s ruler for twenty-four years — succeeding his father, Hafez Assad — fled the nation. He is believed to bve It is Anti-government protests in 2011 met with a brutal crackdown, escalating right into a civil warfare that has killed greater than half one million individuals and displaced half of Syria’s prewar inhabitants of 23 million. Assad, backed by Iran and Russia, steadily regained management of greater than two-thirds of Syria, leaving the rebels with one stronghold within the northwest of the nation.

Here’s a run-down of how the advance by insurgents unfolded:

27 November: Rebels launch a shock offensive

Armed opposition teams launch a large-scale assault on areas managed by authorities forces in northwestern Syria and declare to have wrested management of no less than 15 villages from authorities forces in northwestern Aleppo province. The authorities and its allies reply with airstrikes and shelling in an try to halt the rebel advances.

The offensive is led by the jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS. Formerly the Syrian department of al-Qaeda and often called the Jabhat al-Nusra or the Nusra entrance, HTS later distanced itself from al-Qaeda, looking for to market itself as a extra average group. It is classed as a terrorist group by the United Nations, the UK and the US

The assault on Aleppo follows weeks of simmering low-level violence, together with authorities assaults on opposition-held areas. Turkey, a most important backer of Syrian opposition teams, says the insurgents started a restricted offensive to cease the assaults, nevertheless it expanded as authorities forces started to retreat.

28 November: Expansion into Idlib

The offensive expands to succeed in the countryside of Idlib province, with stories Assad’s troops are retreating.

29 November: The metropolis of Aleppo

The insurgents sweep into town of Aleppo, for the primary time since they have been pushed out in 2016. That concerned a gruelling navy marketing campaign by Syrian authorities forces backed by Russia and Iran. This time, they meet with little resistance.

30 November

The rebels say they management Aleppo, elevating a flag over town’s citadel and occupying the worldwide airport.

1 December: No assist for Assad

The Syrian navy launches a counterattack with troops and airstrikes on Idlib and Aleppo. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visits Damascus, telling Assad that Tehran will assist the counteroffensive.

But Assad receives little, if any, assist from his allies. Russia is busy with its warfare in Ukraine, and Iran has seen its proxies throughout the area degraded by common airstrikes. Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah, which at one level despatched hundreds of fighters to shore up Assad’s forces, has been weakened by a 13-month battle with Israel.

2 December to 4 December: The insurgents push on

The insurgents push south, advancing to inside 10 miles (six kilometres) of Hama, the nation’s fourth-largest metropolis and a key crossroads in central Syria, about 125 miles north of Damascus. State media stories fierce preventing within the province, and each state media and a U.Ok.-based observer group say authorities forces, backed by Russian airstrikes, have recaptured some territory.

5 December: The fall of Hama

After a number of days of preventing the rebels sweep into Hama. Dozens of jubilant fighters are seen firing into the air in celebration in Assi Square, the positioning of huge anti-government protests within the early days of the rebellion in 2011. The Syrian military rereats exterior town

6 December: The seize of Homs

Rapidly advancing now, the rebels seize two cities on the outskirts of Homs, Syria’s third-largest metropolis. About 25 miles, south of Hama, Homs is the gateway to Damascus and the situation of one in every of Syria’s two state-owned oil refineries. Capturing it could lower the hyperlink between Damascus, Assad’s seat of energy, and the coastal area the place he enjoys huge assist.

The authorities denies stories that its navy has withdrawn from town.

7-8 December: The fall of Damascus

Syrian rebels shut in on the capital – and Assad’s seat of energy – on Saturday and managed town unopposed by early Sunday, with Assad fleeing to Russia.

Syrian state tv airs a video assertion by a bunch of males saying that President Bashar Assad has been overthrown and all prisoners have been let loose. HTS commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani visits the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and calls Assad’s fall a victory for “the Islamic nation.”

9 December

Damascus stirs again to life. Heavy visitors returns to the streets, however most retailers remained shut. Rebels mill about within the centre.

Al-Golani, met in a single day with Assad’s Prime Minister Mohammed Jalali and Vice President Faisal Mekdad to debate preparations for a transitional authorities, a supply accustomed to the discussions informed Reuters.

Al Jazeera tv stories that the transitional authority could be headed by Mohamed Al-Bashir, who ran the administration in a small pocket of rebel-held territory earlier than the 12-day lightning offensive that swept into Damascus.

Associated Press contributed to this report