How It Happened: 2 Seismic Weeks That Toppled Syria’s Government

LONDON (AP) — Half a century of rule by the Assad family in Syria crumbled with astonishing speed after insurgents burst out of a rebel-held enclave and converged on the capital, Damascus, taking city after city in a matter of days.

Opposition forces swept across the country and entered Damascus with little or no resistance as the Syrian army melted away. President Bashar Assad, Syria’s ruler for 24 years — succeeding his father, Hafez Assad — fled the country. Russian state media reported that he was in Moscow.

It’s a stunning development in Syria’s devastating 13-year conflict. Anti-government protests in 2011 met with a brutal crackdown, escalating into a civil war that has killed more than half a million people and displaced half of Syria’s prewar population of 23 million. Assad, backed by Iran and Russia, gradually regained control of more than two-thirds of Syria, leaving the rebels with one stronghold in the northwest of the country.

And there the conflict remained, largely frozen, for years until late November. Here’s a look at a seismic two weeks for the Middle East.

Armed opposition groups launch a large-scale attack on areas controlled by government forces in northwestern Syria and claim to have wrested control of over 15 villages from government forces in northwestern Aleppo province. The government and its allies respond with airstrikes and shelling in an attempt to halt the insurgent advances.

The offensive is led by the jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS. Formerly the Syrian branch of al-Qaida and known as the Nusra Front, HTS later distanced itself from al-Qaida, seeking to market itself as a more moderate group. It is classed as a terrorist group by the United Nations and the U.S.

The attack on Aleppo follows weeks of simmering low-level violence, including government attacks on opposition-held areas. Turkey, a main backer of Syrian opposition groups, says the rebels began a limited offensive to stop the attacks, but it expanded as government forces began to retreat.

The offensive expands to reach the countryside of Idlib province amid reports government troops are retreating.

The insurgents enter Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, for the first time since they were pushed out in 2016 after a grueling military campaign by Syrian government forces backed by Russia and Iran. They meet with little resistance.

The rebels say they control Aleppo, raising a flag over the city’s citadel and occupying the international airport. The Syrian armed forces claim to have redeployed troops and equipment in preparation for a counterattack.

By evening, the insurgents have seized at least four towns in the central Hama province and claim to have entered the provincial capital.

The Syrian military launches a counterattack with troops and airstrikes on Idlib and Aleppo. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visits Damascus, telling Assad that Tehran will support the counteroffensive.

But Assad receives little, if any, help from his allies. Russia is busy with its war in Ukraine, and Iran has seen its proxies across the region degraded by regular airstrikes. Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah, which at one point sent thousands of fighters to shore up Assad’s forces, has been weakened by a yearlong conflict with Israel.

The insurgents push south, advancing to within 10 kilometers (6 miles) of Hama, the country’s fourth-largest city and a key crossroads in central Syria, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of Damascus. State media reports fierce fighting in the province, and both state media and a U.K.-based observer group say government forces, backed by Russian airstrikes, have recaptured some territory.

Turkey urges Assad to hold talks with the opposition.

After several days of fighting the rebels sweep into Hama. Dozens of jubilant fighters are seen firing into the air in celebration in Assi Square, the site of massive anti-government protests in the early days of the uprising in 2011. The Syrian army says it has redeployed to positions outside the city to protect civilians.

Rapidly advancing now, the rebels seize two towns on the outskirts of Homs, Syria’s third-largest city. About 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Hama, Homs is the gateway to Damascus and the location of one of Syria’s two state-owned oil refineries. Capturing it would cut the link between Damascus, Assad’s seat of power, and the coastal region where he enjoys wide support.

The government denies reports that its military has withdrawn from the city.

Top diplomats from countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, Iran and Russia, hold talks on Syria in the Qatari capital, Doha.

Opposition forces take Homs after government forces abandon it. The insurgents say they have encircled Damascus and are carrying out the “final stage” of their offensive.

The U.N. special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, seeks urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an “orderly political transition,” as Syrian state media denies Assad has fled the country.

Syrian state television airs a video statement by a group of men saying that President Bashar Assad has been overthrown and all prisoners have been set free. HTS commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani visits the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and calls Assad’s fall a victory for “the Islamic nation.”

Russian officials and Iranian state TV say Assad has left Syria. Russian state news agencies later report he and his family are in Moscow and were granted asylum.

Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali says Syria’s government is ready to “extend its hand” to the opposition and hand over its functions to a transitional government.