More than half a million Syrians died in 13 years of a civil war that was born to defeat the dictator Bashar Al Assad. That conflict, stagnating for five years thanks to the active participation of Russia e Iran in favor of its bloody allyencountered a dramatic and abrupt turn in recent weeks that led to the precipitation of the regime.
All reports indicate that Al Assad has left Damascus. Until the time of this publication, his whereabouts were unknown.
The diligent and surprising advance of the rebel troops led by the rebel Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in the main cities of the country, could not be contained by the troops loyal to the Syrian dictator, heir to the dynasty born with his father, Hafef Al Assadmore than 50 years ago.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham -whose name means Organization for the Liberation of the Levant– was born at the beginning of the Syrian civil war, when the jihadists formed the Facing Al Nusra to combat the forces of the regime with terrorist attacks.
Just 24 hours ago, the head of the HTS, Ahmed al-Sharaa said in a statement issued on social media Telegram: “Damascus awaits you”. He used his real name instead of his war ID for the first time: Abu Mohammed al-Jolani. Signs of a political future. Before long, they had captured much of the Syrian capital and taken over the main state television station where they announced the despot’s escape.
Their second act was another symbol: they stormed and quickly surrounded the famous and gloomy prison of Sednaya to free those who identified as “arrested politicians” of the regime. In that macabre den, the Syrian Army He committed all types of torture and human rights violations.
The blow against Al-Assad It was lightning, even though it lasted 13 years.
In the last week, the rebels led by Al-Sharaathey took the historic city of Aleppothen Hama and later Homs. There were three devastating captures that Al-Assad could not contain. A domino effect that ended in Damascus.
Since the Arab Spring protests in a large part of economically precarious Muslim countries, Al-Assad He had been a brutal repressor of these demonstrations. Which led to an emergence of rebel groups that rose up in different photos of the country generating. Also jihadist organizations that sowed terror in large populations that were never Damascus could contain.
Desperate and realizing that control of the country was slipping from him, Al-Assad He wove alliances that would give him life: Russia, Iran y Hezbollahwere the columns that saved his government. It was December 2015 when Moscow he took charge of keeping his old ally in power. For that, it destroyed entire towns, leaving them in ashes.
The civil war took on another dimension and caused one of the largest exoduses in modern history. Millions of Syrians left their country and crossed the border with Türkiye generating an immigration wave in Europa and the rest of the world without precedent. The Turkish government would slowly begin to get involved.
But he Kremlin -next to Tehran and its Lebanese armed wing, the terrorist army of Hezbollah– they took true control of Damascus, keeping rebels and extremist groups at bay. The Russian, Syrian and Iranian narrative focused on saying that they were fighting terrorist groups. With this they also massacred opposition leaders who were up in arms, uncomfortable for Al-Assad.
But a series of Russian and Iranian moves interrupted that “balance” that was experienced in the last six or seven years. Syria. On February 24, 2022, Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine. What I thought would be a fleeting operation, resulted in a war that has now lasted two and a half years and an uncountable drain on deaths and resources.
Iran y Hezbollahfor their part, began a very costly conflict against Israel. It began on October 7, 2023, when terrorists from Hamas They massacred and kidnapped thousands of Israelis. That led to Tehran to divert resources from Syria and make it a distant priority. The survival of the theocratic regime is in danger.
Hezbollahmeanwhile, suffered a devastating defeat against Israel. From detonating radio messages to physically eliminating his boss, Hassan Nasrallah -and his entire hierarchical plant- were blows from which he still could not recover. Nor will it be able to easily recover from the bombing of its military infrastructure in the south and the control over the supply of war material that flowed from Iran.
Without room for maneuver and unable to commit more resources to a war that was never their own, partners who once swore eternal loyalty to Al-Assad and who used their country’s resources at will They said “enough, we’re here.” They released the hand of the friend who was hanging from the cliff, letting him fall without any type of restraint. Just a plane that would take him away from certain death.
Russia, Iran y Hezbollah They started an alliance with Syria of Bashar Al-Assad that is coming to an end. It helped the dictator survive a few more years in power. But it represents a lesson for the rest of the world’s despots: Sooner or later, the end comes, no matter which ally is at your side.
X: @TotiPI
