It would take some time to understand the exact meaning, cause and effect of what happened in Syria on December 8, 2024. However, it is clear that the way the rebel forces, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militant outfit and its affiliate Jaish al-Izza (the Army of Pride), escalated the offensive almost all on a sudden to topple the 24-year rule of Bashar al-Assad, thus putting an end to the 53-year-long dominance of the Ba’ath Party, too. It was a major shift not only for Syria, but also for the balance of power in West Asia!

During the last 13 years of the al-Assad rule, Syria has been in a frenzy of violence. However, the Syrian Armed and Law Enforcement Forces surrendered to the rebels without resorting to violence in the final phase of the civil war. It seems that the al-Assad Regime was slowly approaching a termination phase. Russia and Iran have been active in supporting ousted President al-Assad for so long. However, they withdrew their support in the final moment.

Since the beginning of the civil war in 2011, more than 500,000 have been killed, while over 13 million Syrians have been displaced. With this, Syria has become the former home of the world’s largest displaced population! Syrian refugees‘are considered an endangered group not only in Europe, but all over the world. The question arises here… Whether the homeless Syrian refugees return home after the overwhelming victory of the rebel forces.

Once, Damascus was a modern, as well as aristocratic, metropolis, with rich history and culture. Syria also had a prominent place in world diplomacy as it used to play an important role in maintaining peace between Israel and the Arab nations. Henry Kissinger, the former US Secretary of State, had reportedly said: “There would be no chance of a peaceful solution without the Syrian and Egyptian effort on the battlefield.” However, history often faces ironies and today’s Syria is a shining proof of that.

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For nearly two decades, no country has extended a helping hand to Syria that has been devastated and disrupted by Anti-Government Protests and civil war. Instead, Russia, Iran, Turkey and the US have continuously provided all the parties in Syria with arms, money and troops for their own interests. It is still not clear whether any country would come forward to rebuild the war-torn Syria.

Also, there is a complex diplomatic issue. Syria was witnessing a power struggle between Russia and the US in the pretext of civil war. Moscow helped al-Assad to stay in power from 2014 to 2024 by providing all sorts of help. However, the Russia-Ukraine War diverted Moscow’s attention to Eastern Europe in 2022. At the same time, Syria did not receive adequate support from Iran and Lebanon due to Israel’s encroachment on Palestine and neighbouring areas over the past one year. All these created a golden opportunity for the rebels to liberate Syria from the al-Assad Regime.

Immediately after the fall of al-Assad, Israel captured the Golan Heights and started bombarding different areas of Syria. The only goal of Tel Aviv is to completely destroy Syria. The Zionist Regime has argued that it shall face security issues once the anti-Assad Islamist coalition takes control of Syria. One can easily understand why Israel’s invasion of Palestine ended the decades-long Syrian civil war and triggered the collapse of the al-Assad Regime.

The entire world is waiting to see how the hardline Islamic forces punish the leaders of the al-Assad Regime, how they impose fundamentalist rule in the war-torn country, how they seek revenge for Israel’s ongoing atrocities in Gaza and fuel hostilities with pro-Shiite Iran.

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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