The fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad‘s Government in the early hours of December 8, 2024 brought to a dramatic end his nearly 24-year iron fist rule. The ousted President left the West Asian nation for Russia just before the rebel forces, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militant outfit and its affiliate Jaish al-Izza (the Army of Pride), captured the capital city of Damascus. With this, the 53-year rule of the al-Assad Family also came to an end. It may be noted that Hafez al-Assad, the father of Bashar al-Assad, had become the President of Syria in 1971 under the Ba’ath Party. Currently, Bashar al-Assad, along with his wife Asma and their three sons, is staying in Moscow as the family got political asylum in the European country on humanitarian grounds.

al-Assad became the President after the demise of his father in 2000. He faced a strong challenge in 2011 when Anti-Government Protests rocked the country. As al-Assad made an attempt to suppress the rebellion by using force, the Syrian Civil War began. While the US backed the rebels from the very beginning, the al-Assad Regime received support from Russia and Iran. The al-Assad Administration has severely suppressed all rebellions for the past 13 years. However, his downfall began on November 27, 2024. In a lightning 12-day offensive, rebel outfits took city after city as they made their way from Aleppo towards Damascus, with the Syrian Army offering little to no resistance! Finally, the rebels captured Damascus on December 8 (2024), prompting the President to leave the country. What the rebel forces could not do in 13 years of effort, they have done it in just 12 days!

In fact, two wars are going on simultaneously in two different parts of the globe. While the Russia-Ukraine War has rocked Europe, the Israel-Hamas War has created trouble in West Asia. Hence, the Syrian rebels thought that it was a great opportunity to overthrow the al-Assad Regime. The combined forces of HTS and Jaish al-Izza easily cornered the Government of al-Assad, prompting the President to leave the country. As al-Assad did not receive adequate support from Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, he could not put up any resistance and bowed to the aggression of the rebels.

Here’s a look at what happened in those 12 days that could reshape not only Syria, but also upend the power dynamics across the Middle East.

November 27, 2024: Rebel forces attacked Government-controlled areas in northwestern Syria, claiming that they liberated more than 15 villages from the al-Assad Regime in Aleppo. HTS carried out this operation. Although the Government forces made an attempt to resist the rebels by launching airstrikes with the help of Russia and Iran, they failed to eliminate the rebels.

November 28: The rebels started advancing further from the north-west and entered Idlib Province. The Government forces reportedly started retreating.

November 29: The Rebel forces captured Aleppo, the largest city of Syria. It may be noted that the al-Assad Government had evicted the rebels from this city in 2016 by launching a military operation with the help of Russia and Iran. The rebels recaptured Aleppo on November 29, 2024 without facing any resistance.

November 30: The rebels announced that Aleppo was under their control, stressing that they also captured the main airport. The rebels hoisted their flag in the heart of the city. They further captured at least four towns in central Syria’s Hama Governorate in the evening and entered the provincial capital.

December 1: The al-Assad Regime struck back as the Government forces launched airstrikes in Idlib and Aleppo. The Government forces also launched ground operations against the rebels. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Damascus on the same day and assured President al-Assad that the Islamic Republic would back him.

December 2-4: The rebel forces advanced in the other direction after being blocked in one direction. They moved towards the south and entered Hama, the fourth largest city of Syria. As Hama is just about 200km north of Damascus (al-Assad’s seat of power), Turkey urged the Syrian President to hold talks with the rebels.

December 5: The rebel forces took complete control of Hama. It may be noted that the al-Asi Square in Hama was the hotbed of the 2011 uprising. After recapturing the city on December 5, the rebels were seen shooting in the air to celebrate their victory.

December 6: The rebels advanced further to capture the third largest Syrian city of Homs. As Homs is popularly known as the gateway to Damascus, it was a huge blow to the al-Assad Regime. Homs is also a strategically important city as it has two oil refineries controlled by the Syrian Government. The al-Assad Administration denied the report that Government forces were retreating from Homs. On the same day, representatives of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, Iran and Russia held a high-level meeting on Syria in Doha.

December 7: As the al-Assad Administration withdrew Government forces from Homs, the rebels captured the city. They also announced that they besieged Damascus and their campaign was at the final stage.

December 8: The Syrian state media confirmed the fall of the al-Assad Government, stating that all the political prisoners were freed. Rebel leader Abu Muhammad al-Golani offered prayers at the historic Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and declared victory. He also greeted people, announcing the end of five-decade rule of al-Assad’s Ba’ath Party. Later, Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali announced that he was ready to transfer power to the Opposition. He also called for free elections, saying that he had been in contact with rebel commander al-Golani to discuss managing the transitional period. Meanwhile, Moscow announced that ousted Syrian President al-Assad arrived in Russia as the Vladimir Putin Administration gave asylum to him and his family. According to the Russian state media Sputnik International, they have been granted asylum on humanitarian grounds.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das