Bashar Assad’s fall after 14 years of war in Syria brings to an end a decades-long dynasty

Syrian President Bashar Assad's 14-year rule ends amid brutal civil war, leaving country in uncertainty and chaos.

The fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government Sunday (December 8, 2024) brought to a dramatic close his nearly 14-year struggle to hold onto power as his country fragmented amid a brutal civil war that became a proxy battlefield for regional and international powers.

Mr. Assad’s downfall came as a stark contrast to his first months as Syria’s unlikely president in 2000, when many hoped he would be a young reformer after three decades of his father’s iron grip. Only 34 years old, the Western-educated ophthalmologist was a rather geeky tech-savvy fan of computers with a gentle demeanour.

But when faced with protests against his rule that erupted in March 2011, Mr. Assad turned to the brutal tactics of his father in an attempt to crush them. As the uprising haemorrhaged into an outright civil war, he unleashed his military to blast opposition-held cities, with support from allies Iran and Russia.

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The Syrian war has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million. As the uprising spiralled into a civil war, millions of Syrians fled across the borders into Jordan, Turkiye, Iraq and Lebanon and on to Europe.

His departure brings an end to the Assad family rule, spanning just under 54 years. With no clear successor, it throws the country into further uncertainty.