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FALL OF BASHAR AL-ASSAD
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown this Sunday following a dramatic offensive by Islamist rebel forces. The deposed president fled Damascus for Moscow, marking a historic turning point that ended half a century of unchallenged rule by his family clan.
On Monday morning, Syrians converged to the Umayyad Square to celebrate Bashar al-Assad's downfall after the overnight curfew imposed by the rebels was lifted, according to journalists on the ground. From the square, smoke was visible rising from the neighboring district housing security service buildings, which had been set ablaze the previous evening, the journalist reported.
On November 27, a coalition of rebels led by the radical Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), under the command of Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, launched an offensive from their stronghold in Idlib (northwest). Within ten days, amidst the collapse of government forces, the rebels seized vast swathes of territory, including major cities such as Aleppo (north), Hama (center), Deraa (south), and Homs, before advancing into the capital.
This marks the most dramatic offensive since the start of the civil war in 2011, which began with the brutal repression of pro-democracy protests and has resulted in over 500,000 deaths.