How Assad's dictatorial regime rose and fell in Syria

Syrian opposition forces have captured the capital city of Damascus and forced the country's president, Bashar al-Assad, to flee. This marks the first time in over half a century that a member of the Assad family will not rule Syria — and represents a seismic shift in the Middle East.

Assad served as president since 2000 after taking over from his father, who ruled Syria for nearly three decades. Under the rule of the Assad family, Syria was widely characterized as an authoritarian dictatorship. While Syrian rebels have been engaged in a civil war since 2011 in attempting to topple Assad, they were not able to gain full control of Damascus and the key strategic city of Aleppo — until a series of major offensives finally saw the Assad government crumble.

How did Assad gain power?

Assad's father, Hafez al-Assad, entered government following a coup in 1966 and worked his way up to become president. But Bashar was never seen as his father's original successor: He "was not destined for power," but rather "destined to become an ophthalmologist," said Le Monde. Succession to the Syrian presidency had been "reserved for the eldest sibling," Bassel, who was the "opposite of Bashar: a loudmouth, famous for his horse-riding skills and his success with women."

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Then Bassel died in a car accident in 1994, meaning Bashar was the one who came to power upon his father's death in 2000. His father was characterized by dictatorial rule, but some felt Bashar would rule differently. His father was an "autocrat with an icy, stiff style," whereas Bashar "cultivated the image of a benevolent despot, attentive to the needs of his fellow citizens," said Le Monde. Syrians "began to believe" as "hundreds of political prisoners were released and discussion forums sprang up all over the country."

But Bashar's good image "had evaporated" by 2011, when soldiers "fired on demonstrators as part of an official policy while heavily armed pro-regime militias known as shabiha emerged to operate as death squads," said The Guardian. Bashar had "personal involvement in signing off on daily orders for the continuing violence even as a sense of unreality pervaded." His reign was also marked by alleged human rights violations in the notorious Saydnaya Prison, known as a "human slaughterhouse."

How did the Syrian rebels finally topple Assad?

Bashar al-Assad continued his violent stranglehold over the country throughout the civil war; it is estimated that 36,000 Syrian civilians died in the first 10 years of the conflict. Though violence had stemmed since a 2020 ceasefire, Assad's rule officially ended this week when an "armed rebel alliance charged across Syria over 11 days, sweeping through major cities," CNN said. This coalition, led by the militant Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, was able to seize Aleppo, a "move that met little resistance from the Syrian army."

After this, the rebels "entered and seized Damascus, seemingly with little fightback from Assad's government forces," said NBC News. Those fighting Assad "appear to have capitalized on Syria's backers being distracted elsewhere: Russia in Ukraine, and Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah fighting Israel." Russia, which has long been Syria's key military backer, was reportedly surprised by the pace at which Aleppo and Damascus fell. Assad has now fled his country to exile in Russia, but "this is far from a quick, simple fix," as the rebels who toppled him are "led by a group that the United States and others regard as a terrorist organization." It remains to be seen how this new coalition will fill the power vacuum in Syria.