It is over. Fifty-four years of brutal Assad dynasty rule has come to an finish.
The streets of Damascus have erupted in celebration. President Bashar al Assad has fled the nation and the capital has fallen.
What comes subsequent is of nice concern. Syria is deeply divided, geographically and socially. This can be a second of giant peril.
As soon as the euphoria cools there can be deep hatred and anger in direction of former Assad loyalists after a long time of murderous rule. Containing that can be troublesome.
Who governs Syria is unknown.
Syria newest: President Assad reported to have fled
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A picture of Syrian President Bashar al Assad riddled with bullets in Hama, Syria. Pic: AP
A number of insurgent teams management completely different components of the nation and, we assume, they may all need their slice of energy. That could be a recipe for additional civil conflict except this may be managed in an orderly method.
Syria’s prime minister, Mohammad Ghazi al Jalali, has remained in Damascus and supplied a peaceable transition. How he’s handled can be indicator.
Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), the principle group that began this riot with the seize of Aleppo, had been as soon as affiliated with al Qaeda.
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Syrian opposition fighters have fun the collapse of the federal government within the capital Damascus. Pic: AP
They’ve renounced these hyperlinks however stay a proscribed terror organisation by the US and others.
Russia and Iran, Assad’s two predominant state sponsors, deserted him when his destiny appeared inevitable.
It’s unlikely they may abandon Syria fairly so shortly although.
Moscow has key army bases on the Mediterranean coast which opens up part of the world to them – giving these up could be an enormous strategic blow.
To Iran, Syria was a centrepiece in its axis of resistance, the funnel via which weapons had been channelled to Hezbollah and important territory in its arc of affect.
However Assad and Hezbollah have now each collapsed, and Iran’s community of Shia affect is in tatters.
It’s a new daybreak for Syria, however there are darkish clouds on the horizon.
