bashar al assad

December 31, 2024 7:38 PM

Syria’s Spiral: The Rise, Reign, and Ruin of Bashar al-Assad Amid the Arab Spring’s Echoes

Syria, a country in Southwest Asia on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, was deeply affected by the Arab Spring protests that swept through many nations in the Middle East and North Africa in 2010 and 2011. These were anti-regime, pro-democracy demonstrations aimed at toppling dictatorial governments. Backed by Iran and Russia, the regime led by Bashar al-Assad survived the revolutionary wave carried out by rebel forces and eventually reclaimed many of the territories they once held. T...

December 24, 2024 7:23 PM

Uncertainty clouds fate of Syrians in Egypt after Assad ouster

Syrian refugees and residents in Egypt face an uncertain future as new regulations may jeopardise their right to remain in the country after Bashar al-Assad's ouster earlier this month. European countries quickly suspended Syrian asylum applications after the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham swept into Damascus on Dec. 8, forcing Assad to flee after a 13-year civil war. Other countries are also responding to the changing political landscape. Egypt last week ratified a new law giving the go...

December 18, 2024 5:21 PM

Leader of former Syrian opposition says transitional government should not exclude any party

Hadi al-Bahra, head of the Syrian National Coalition that grouped opponents of Bashar al-Assad during the civil war, said on Wednesday Syria's transitional government should be credible and not exclude any Syrian party or be based on sectarianism. In a seismic moment for the Middle East, Syrian rebels seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8, forcing Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war, ending his family's decades-long rule. The lightning offensive raised questions over whether the...

December 18, 2024 1:18 PM

Syrian mass graves expose “machinery of death” under Assad, top prosecutor says

An international war crimes prosecutor said on Tuesday that evidence emerging from mass grave sites in Syria has exposed a state-run "machinery of death" under toppled leader Bashar al-Assad in which he estimated more than 100,000 people were tortured and murdered since 2013. Speaking after visiting two mass grave sites in the towns of Qutayfah and Najha near Damascus, former U.S. war crimes ambassador at large Stephen Rapp told Reuters: "We certainly have more than 100,000 people that were dis...

December 17, 2024 10:18 AM

Bashar al-Assad gives account of last hours before leaving Syria

Syria's Bashar al-Assad issued his first statement since being toppled from power, saying he was evacuated to Russia from the Hmeimim base on Dec. 8 as it came under drone attack, after leaving Damascus that morning with rebel fighters closing in. His written statement was published on the Syrian presidency's Telegram channel and dated Dec. 16 from Moscow, where he has been granted asylum. He was ousted after insurgent forces led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham swept through Syria in a ...

December 12, 2024 9:28 AM

Syria’s rebel leader vows to dissolve Assad regime security forces, close prisons

The main commander of the fighters who toppled Bashar al-Assad said on Wednesday that he would dissolve the security forces of the former regime, close its prisons and hunt down anyone involved in the torture or killing of detainees. Syrian rebel leader Ahmad al-Sharaa - better known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani - said in a statement to Reuters he will "dissolve the security forces of the previous regime and close the notorious prisons." Syria ran one of the most oppressive police states in the M...

December 11, 2024 10:05 AM

Refugees return to Syria as caretaker prime minister appointed

Refugees from Syria's long civil war were making their way home on Wednesday, as a new interim prime minister said he had been appointed with the backing of the rebels who toppled President Bashar al-Assad. U.S. officials, engaging with rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), urged them not to assume automatic leadership of the country but instead run an inclusive process to form a transitional government. The new government must "uphold clear commitments to fully respect the rights of min...

December 10, 2024 10:46 AM

Syria’s rebels work to form government, restore order after Assad ouster

The lightning overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad left Syrians, countries in the region and world powers nervous on Tuesday about what comes next as the rebel alliance took its first steps in a government transition. The United Nations Security Council met behind closed doors late on Monday, and diplomats said they were still in shock at how quickly Assad's overthrow unfolded over 12 days, after a 13-year civil war that was locked in stalemate for years. "Everyone was taken by surprise,...

December 9, 2024 9:29 PM

Assad’s fall brings ‘the moment’ to rid Syria of chemical weapons

The downfall of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, found to have used chemical weapons against his own people on multiple occasions during the civil war, creates an opportunity to rid the country of banned munitions, diplomatic sources said on Monday. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said it was following the situation in Syria with "special attention" to chemical weapons-related sites and had reminded Syria, through its embassy, of its continued obligation to declare and d...

December 9, 2024 1:10 PM

Rebels capture Damascus, topple Assad regime after 54 years; President flees to Russia

On 27 November, the Syrian rebels launched a lighting offensive on President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. By the 29th, they had captured the city of Aleppo. And Hama a week later. On 8 December, Assad fled and Damascus fell, ending the 54-year rule of Assad and his late father Hafez al-Assad. The Islamist rebels led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham had never had it so good since a civil war erupted in Syria in the year 2011. Until the last week of November, the war in Syria had been mostly dormant fo...