Syria celebrates the fall of Bashar al-Assad as dictatorship ends after five decades

Syria erupted in celebration on Sunday after the sudden and unexpected fall of President Bashar al-Assad, ending more than five decades of dynastic rule. The dictator, who had led the country for over 20 years following his father’s reign, fled to Moscow just hours before news broke of his regime’s collapse.

As rebel forces made a stunning advance into Damascus, jubilant crowds flooded the streets, waving the Syrian revolutionary flag and tearing down statues and portraits of the Assad family. The echoes of celebratory gunfire and car horns filled the capital as citizens celebrated what many had once thought impossible – the end of an oppressive regime that had ruled with an iron fist for generations.

Scenes of joy and disbelief unfolded across the city, with families reunited after years of separation. Many of these families had been torn apart by Assad’s notorious prison system, which imprisoned thousands of Syrians during the regime’s brutal crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy protests in 2011. For these families, the news of Assad’s flight was a moment of unimaginable relief, with tears of joy and cries of freedom filling the streets.

In a symbolic act of defiance, some rebels and citizens ransacked the presidential palace, marveling at the wealth that had been amassed by the Assad family, including luxury cars and expensive goods. This display of excess starkly contrasted with the dire poverty faced by most Syrians, 90% of whom now live below the poverty line.

The stunning collapse of the Assad regime came just hours after it was revealed that the president had fled the capital on a private plane, leaving his soldiers behind. Reports from Russian state news agencies later confirmed that Assad and his family had sought asylum in Moscow on “humanitarian grounds.”

The events that led to Assad’s sudden departure marked the dramatic end of a regime that had long been propped up by foreign powers. The Syrian conflict, which began with peaceful protests during the Arab Spring, escalated into one of the deadliest wars of the 21st century. Despite the massive losses, Assad was saved by the intervention of Iranian and Russian forces, alongside Hezbollah fighters, who helped him regain control of much of the country.