Bashar al-Assad’s regime was overthrown in a rebel advance on Damascus led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from Idlib Province 8 December. The offensive, launched by the rebel groups 27 November and approved by Türkiye, toppled the regime in large cities of “Useful Syria”: Aleppo, Hama, Homs and Damascus. Although Bashar al-Assad’s regime had been severely weakened by years of war, the capture of Damascus appears to have been made possible above all because of the regime having been abandoned by its main allies, namely Russia and Iran, who had however chosen to save it in 2015.
The collapse of the regime has brought hope to the Syrian people, who have been deprived of their political rights under the yoke of the regime, but it also heralds a period of great uncertainty in a country that is still subject to a great deal of foreign interference (from Türkiye, Israel, the United States, Russia, Iran, etc.). Although the arrival of the rebels in Damascus did not give rise to any major incidents, the breakdown of the Syrian army, accelerated by the Israeli bombardments, has created a vast security vacuum in a number of regions, especially in the south, east and centre of the country, where various armed groups could take advantage of the open ground. The new setup is expected to have major regional repercussions, reaching beyond Syria.