The reign of terror by Bashar al-Assad over Syria came to an end after more than 50 years of rule by tha family on Sunday following gains by rebel forces in Damascus, with al-Assad and his family’s whereabouts unknown.
Rebel forces overwhelmed the country’s capital, just over a week after launching several operations that swept through the country’s largest cities. Russia and Iran, preoccupied with other conflicts, did not come to al-Assad’s aid.
Abu Mohammad al-Jawlani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, one of the largest rebel groups, arrived in Damascus on Sunday.
Al-Jawlani was formerly a member of the Islamic State until 2012 and al-Qaeda in 2016. He has led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham since he left al-Qaeda in 2016. The 42-year-old has since transformed the US-designated terrorist organization into a disciplined and effective force with Islamist and nationalist motives, reports The Wall Street Journal.
“After the lightning offensive that saw Jawlani’s forces seize Aleppo, he issued edicts to his Sunni group, ordering the protection of Christians and Shiites, and demanding that his men not exact retribution,” the outlet writes. He has been quoted as saying that he believes diversity is a “strength, not a weakness.”
Al-Sham’s forces forced al-Assad to flee the country in the early hours of Sunday morning. The Russian foreign ministry said on Sunday that he stepped down and left the country, though it is not known where he fled. Moscow has also said that they are in contact with all Syrian rebel groups involved in the offensive.
The BBC reports that al-Jawlani “has for years endeavoured to shift the perception of his organisation from one to be feared for its ideological zealotry into one that could be accepted by Syrians as a pragmatic alternative to the Assad regime.”
Concerns remain as to whether al-Jawlani has completely renounced his group’s links with al-Qaeda, and efforts to legitimize the group have been tarnished by alleged human rights abuses.
The country’s future now lies in the hands of the group, and the direction it takes is largely dependent on the organization’s intentions and capabilities, “as well as the competing claims and pressures from other groups, but also on the part that the major outside powers that have been most closely involved in the country’s recent history will play,” writes the BBC. This includes Iran and Russia, both supporters of Assad, as well as Turkey, which has shown support for rebel groups. The US also maintains a strong military presence in the Kurdish areas in the country’s east.
This Story originally came from humanevents.com